Kansas native Abdullah al-Kidd was detained in 2003 at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., as he headed to Saudi Arabia to embark on an Islamic studies program. Detained on a “material witness” statute, he said he was housed naked and “was treated worse than murderers.”

“The facts alleged in al-Kidd’s complaint are chilling, and serve as a cautionary tale to law-abiding citizens of the United States who fear the excesses of a powerful national government as did many members of the Founding Generation,” Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. wrote (.pdf) in March, when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear its 2009 ruling in favor of al-Kidd.

The material-witness statute, which has increasingly been invoked following the 2001 terror attacks, is designed to allow the government to hold somebody to testify at trial if the government believes the witness may flee. Al-Kidd was never called to testify.

When released from prison, al-Kidd’s travel was restricted, his passport was taken, and he was required to report to probation officers for more than a year. He sued.

Last year, the San Francisco-based appeals court ruled in favor of al-Kidd, saying the material-witness statute at issue could not be used to investigate or detain individuals without probable cause (.pdf).

The San Francisco-based appeals court also said Ashcroft could be personally liable in the case, a decision the government told the Supreme Court “would seriously limit the circumstances in which prosecutors could invoke the material-witness statute without fear of personal liability.”

The justices did not indicate when they would hear the case.

Photo: AP

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• CIA Can Hide Torture Allegations, Court Rules

Authors: David Kravets

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