should John Ashcroft be held responsible for arrest/detaining innocent Muslims?

Seems like Mr Al-Kidd isn't going to take the crap he went through, and many others should step up as well.

Washington - The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held personally responsible for the detention and interrogation of an American Muslim who was wrongly suspected of involvement with terrorists.

Abdullah Al-Kidd, a former football star at the University of Idaho who converted to Islam, was arrested and handcuffed by FBI agents at Dulles International Airport as he was about to fly to Saudi Arabia in 2003. He was held in a high-security jail cell and interrogated.

The warrant that authorized his arrest said nothing of criminal wrongdoing. Federal agents did not possess the probable cause necessary to justify his arrest as a criminal suspect. Instead, they relied on a federal statute that authorizes the temporary detention of a witness to ensure the witness will be available to testify at a trial.

...

http://www.truth-out.org/supreme-court-hear-ashcroft-appeal-us-muslims-detention64300

http://www.theledger.com/article/20101018/NEWS/10185057/1002/SPORTS?Title=Can-Ashcroft-Be-Sued-Over-9-11-Policy-

He didn't even GET to go through the justice system. He was just apprehended and detained and interrogated for over a year because he converted to the Muslim religion and tried to fly to Saudi.

Freedom of religion? Freedom of movement? Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure? Due process of the law? Right to an attorney? Miranda rights?

lol yea right, not in this country anymore...

It would be a horrible day for America if Ashcroft, as the politician responsible for this, proved himself to be above the law and got "immunity" like he is demanding

Yes.

The PATRIOT ACT is a disgrace and the fact Obama signed it in again shows that Republicans and Democrats are just different sides of the same coin.

Innocent? By ethics a person is assumedinnocent until proven guilty, but we don't prove anyone to be innocent, because it's impossible.Just guilty or NOT guilty. Just because we can't prove a person IS guilty doesn't mean they are innocent.

Once someone is suspected of being guilty of something they become a SUSPECT. You don't proof for suspects. You only need reasonable suspicion. Whether or not they can be proven guilty is a separate matter.

Ashcroft should definitely be held responsible. What he did was a horrible infringement on people's rights. I hope he goes to jail for the rest of his life....

if anyone commits a crime, especially to an extent such as this, then he or she or they should be held accountable.

on a more individual basis I am more forgiving, more open to "extenuating circumstances", but when it comes to politicians (and abuses of power) then I think they should havea whole library of books thrown at them.

Yep, goes against the human rights.

He should be strung up by his sack, but he won't.

I clicked on the second link and it did not say he was detained for a year. I'm inclined to agree with your position, but it's kind of hard if you're going to post false information...StopThePresses

"Arrested on March 16, 2003 at Washington's Dulles Airport, al-Kidd was held for 13 months in maximum security prisons. Officials wanted to use him as a witness in the trial of another suspect in the investigation on the September 11th, 2001 attacks, Sami Omar al-Hussayen."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/john-ashcroft-can-be-sued-for-wrongful-detention-20090905-fbzv.html

how is it false?

[QUOTE="StopThePresses"]I clicked on the second link and it did not say he was detained for a year. I'm inclined to agree with your position, but it's kind of hard if you're going to post false information..._R34LiTY_

"Arrested on March 16, 2003 at Washington's Dulles Airport, al-Kidd was held for 13 months in maximum security prisons. Officials wanted to use him as a witness in the trial of another suspect in the investigation on the September 11th, 2001 attacks, Sami Omar al-Hussayen."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/john-ashcroft-can-be-sued-for-wrongful-detention-20090905-fbzv.html

how is it false?

http://www.theledger.com/article/20101018/NEWS/10185057/1002/SPORTS?p=2&tc=pg

Instead, agents "blindsided" him at the airport, Gelernt said. Al-Kidd said he was strip-searched and shackled during his 16 days in detention and then he remained under severe restrictions for the next 14 months.

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It would be less confusing if you actually linked to the sources you got the information in your post from in the first place.

[QUOTE="_R34LiTY_"]

[QUOTE="StopThePresses"]I clicked on the second link and it did not say he was detained for a year. I'm inclined to agree with your position, but it's kind of hard if you're going to post false information...StopThePresses

"Arrested on March 16, 2003 at Washington's Dulles Airport, al-Kidd was held for 13 months in maximum security prisons. Officials wanted to use him as a witness in the trial of another suspect in the investigation on the September 11th, 2001 attacks, Sami Omar al-Hussayen."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/john-ashcroft-can-be-sued-for-wrongful-detention-20090905-fbzv.html

how is it false?

http://www.theledger.com/article/20101018/NEWS/10185057/1002/SPORTS?p=2&tc=pg

Instead, agents "blindsided" him at the airport, Gelernt said. Al-Kidd said he was strip-searched and shackled during his 16 days in detention and then he remained under severe restrictions for the next 14 months.

----------------------

It would be less confusing if you actually linked to the sources you got the information in your post from in the first place.

they are linked. so i missed one of them. no biggie

I'd say if he detained thembecause he believed they were or are a real threat... too bad so sad. I've never known anyone to do something without a good reason. But I've known plentyof people that love to be uncooperative and exacerbate everysituation or turn it into an episode.

I've never known anyone to do something without a good reason. MagnumPI

[QUOTE="MagnumPI"]

I've never known anyone to do something without a good reason. StopThePresses

When I say "I've never known anyone" I mean out of all of the people I have personally come into contact with... they had/have their reasons and not everyone agreed/agrees with their reasons, but life isn't fair and something must be done. sooo.. Problems just go away when you ignore them, they become worse.

In a perfect world there would always be a perfect as well as fair way of handling everything. But until then there will always beseedy affairs that the general public should be unaware of since they sit at home believingthe world is perfect just likefictional dramatized television. That's why only certain people are capable of doing dirty jobs. They know the real. They know there will be a lot wrong done before they can make it right. If harasssing a few potentially innocent people is what it takes to find the guilty ones then so be it. If the world was perfect we would never be forced to dosomething unfair. We would never have to do things we know we will probably regret. Some of theWORST things are and have been done with the BEST intentions.

I don't mean random stories that have been dramatized by people that don't even know the people highlighted in the article. We all know if the story wasn't a drama or a fiassco nobody would care.

why was he going to saudi arabia?-Y2J-

Olberman mentions something here about Al-Kidd wanting to pursue some doctorate degree overseas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6mLbYePAmE

Hard to tell who's innocent when dealing with terrorists..

Ashcroft should definitely be held responsible. What he did was a horrible infringement on people's rights. I hope he goes to jail for the rest of his life....

MurasakiYugata

This is great news! Maybe next we can get Rumsfeld.Sajo7

the day those asses get to see a moment behind bars will be when hell freezes over

[QUOTE="StopThePresses"]

[QUOTE="MagnumPI"]

I've never known anyone to do something without a good reason. MagnumPI

When I say "I've never known anyone" I mean out of all of the people I have personally come into contact with... they had/have their reasons and not everyone agreed/agrees with their reasons, but life isn't fair and something must be done. sooo.. Problems just go away when you ignore them, they become worse.

In a perfect world there would always be a perfect as well as fair way of handling everything. But until then there will always beseedy affairs that the general public should be unaware of since they sit at home believingthe world is perfect just likefictional dramatized television. That's why only certain people are capable of doing dirty jobs. They know the real. They know there will be a lot wrong done before they can make it right. If harasssing a few potentially innocent people is what it takes to find the guilty ones then so be it. If the world was perfect we would never be forced to dosomething unfair. We would never have to do things we know we will probably regret. Some of theWORST things are and have been done with the BEST intentions.

I don't mean random stories that have been dramatized by people that don't even know the people highlighted in the article. We all know if the story wasn't a drama or a fiassco nobody would care.

Hard to tell who's innocent when dealing with terrorists..

Xx_Hopeless_xX

What ever happened to due process of the law?