The Unknown Northrop Grumman Detainee

Cleared 9-11 detainee still being held

Star Telegram -December 31

Benamar Benatta has obtained a lawyer, an offer of shelter and even a job. Now, if a federal judge agrees to lower or waive his $25,000 bail next week, he could step out of his prison cell for the first time in 27 months.

Benatta is one of the last lost men of 9-11. Jailed on the day of the attacks in 2001, the Algerian Air Force lieutenant has spent more than two years in federal prisons -- much of that time in solitary confinement -- even though the FBI formally concluded in November 2001 that he had no connection to terrorism.

Benatta was among 1,200 men detained in the weeks after the terror attacks. Aside from a possible unknown material witness, no detainee has remained locked up as long as Benatta.

The Washington Post reported last month on his long detention. The Nov. 29 story tracked his case from his arrest in 2001 to a federal magistrate's decision in September that lambasted federal prosecutors and recommended Benatta's release.

"The defendant in this case undeniably was deprived of his liberty and held in custody under harsh conditions which can be said to be oppressive," federal Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder wrote.

The federal prosecutor in Buffalo agreed to drop all charges against Benatta, 29, shortly after Schroeder released his decision. Benatta now faces a deportation charge. But he remains behind bars at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, N.Y., because he cannot post bail.

Benatta came to the United States in December 2000 for training at Northrop Grumman Corp. in Baltimore. At the end of the training, he decided to stay without legal permission in the United States. He later sought entry to Canada, which was holding him at the border at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Canadians handed him back to the United States.

The Justice Department declined requests to comment.

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printed from The Unknown Northrop Grumman Detainee on 2004-06-22 02:27:47