Abu Ali "indicated that he would prefer to be a planner such as [Sept. 11 hijacker] Mohamed Atta . . . but that he would be willing to participate in an attack," Sobchack said.
Sobchack testified that the FBI had observed the Saudi interrogations of Abu Ali. But Saudi security sources said yesterday that FBI agents had directly interrogated Abu Ali in a Riyadh prison.
On June 16, 2003, one week after his arrest in Saudi Arabia, authorities searched Abu Ali's Falls Church home as part of the jihad network investigation, court records show. According to the six-count indictment filed Feb. 3 and unsealed Tuesday, agents found a document praising the Sept. 11 attacks and condemning U.S. military action in Afghanistan, audio tapes in Arabic promoting violent jihad and the killing of Jews and a book written by top al Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Prosecutors used the proceeds of the search in court papers yesterday to try to convince a judge that Abu Ali is dangerous and should be held. A detention hearing that had been scheduled for today has been postponed until next week.
Yesterday's filing also said the government "does not lightly consider allegations of torture by a U.S. citizen who has been held in foreign custody."
Prosecutors said that the consul at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh met with Abu Ali several times during his detention and that Abu Ali never complained of mistreatment. They said he described his treatment as "kind" and "humane."
Asked to respond, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., an attorney for Abu Ali, said: "Is there anybody in the western world that doesn't believe that the Saudis torture people? They have the worst human rights record in the world. From that, you can drawn your own conclusions.''
Coll reported from Riyadh. Staff writers Sari Horwitz, John Mintz, Dana Priest and Susan Schmidt and researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
