Parents Sue Over American's Saudi Jailing

The parents of a 23-year-old American jailed without charges in Saudi Arabia are suing the U.S. government for what they claim was a deliberate effort to keep him out of U.S. courts and in the hands of jailers who could abuse or torture him for information. The family's lawyers cite last month's Supreme Court rulings that alleged enemy combatants held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can take their claims to U.S. courts. But this is the first lawsuit filed on behalf of a U.S. citizen detained in a third country at the U.S. government's request, the lawyers said. Ahmed Abu Ali was arrested 13 months ago in Saudi Arabia as part of an American anti-terrorism investigation. The U.S. government ordered the arrest and has refused to say when or if Abu Ali would be charged or released, the family alleged in a suit to be filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington. [more]