RULE 15 DEPOSITIONS OF SAUDI SECURITY POLICE AND ADMITTED AT TRIAL DO NOT VIOLATE CONFRONTATION

"In United States v. Abu Ali, the Fourth Circuit ruled that admission of videotaped depositions, taken in Saudi Arabia and at which the defendant was not physically present, did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Abu Ali, a U.S. citizen, was convicted of plotting with Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia to assassinate the President of the United States. Abu Ali is a U.S.-born citizen raised in Virginia by Saudi Arabian parents. He enrolled in Islamic studies at Virginia Institute, and in early September 2002, Abu Ali moved to Saudi Arabia to pursue his education at the Islamic University in Medina. He was introduced through a friend to Sultan Al-Qahtani, second in command of an Al-Qaeda cell in Medina. According to the Government, the two started plotting several terrorist attacks in the United States. Abu Ali was to return to the United States and lead a cell that would execute the planned attacks, which included assassinating President George W. Bush...[more]"