Saudi official denies US suspect tortured

WASHINGTON - Accusations that a US citizen charged with plotting to kill President George W. Bush was tortured while in Saudi custody are "preposterous," a senior Saudi official said.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was extradited from the kingdom to the United States last month and charged with supporting and conspiring with al Qaeda, and discussing ways to kill Bush. He and his family have claimed he was tortured in Saudi Arabia, and said he had scars from whip marks on his back.

US prosecutors said there was no credible evidence to support the claims and said Abu Ali never mentioned that he was was being treated badly to US officials who visited him in jail in Saudi Arabia.

"The argument that he was tortured in Saudi Arabia is preposterous, or baseless," said Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

"At no point in time did he say to anyone, to any American official who visited him while he was in detention, or complain to them that he was being abused in any way, shape or form. So we completely reject that allegation," he told a press briefing in Washington.

Abu Ali was arrested by Saudi officials on June 9, 2003 and was held in Riyadh until his return to Virginia last month after a federal grand jury indicted him.

- REUTERS