Prosecutors Deny Plot Suspect’s Torture Claims

A Virginia man accused of plotting with Al Qaeda to kill President Bush should be held indefinitely, federal prosecutors said in court filings that also rejected his contention that he was tortured while held in Saudi Arabia.

At a court hearing a day earlier in Alexandria, 23-year-old Ahmed Omar Abu Ali offered to display scars on his back as proof that he was tortured by Saudi authorities. Prosecutors say there is “no credible evidence to support those claims.”

Abu Ali would pose “an exceptionally grave danger to the community” if released before his trial, prosecutors said in the filing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Abu Ali also would be unlikely to show up for his trial, they said.