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Moroccan ex-terror suspect sues for release in Detroit | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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DETROIT (AP)- A Moroccan immigrant is challenging his continued detention after his conviction on charges of conspiring to support terrorism was dismissed after the U.S. attorney”s office admitted prosecutorial misconduct.

Abdel Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, filed suit against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in U.S. District Court in Detroit, asking a federal judge to order his immediate release, claiming he has been &#34illegally detained,&#34 The Detroit News reported Thursday.

Elmardoudi was convicted in June 2003 along with Karim Koubriti of conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists and document fraud. A third man, Ahmed Hannan, was convicted only of document fraud.

In September, the U.S. attorney”s office admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the 2003 trial and asked U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen to dismiss the terrorism charges against Koubriti and Elmardoudi and retry them, and Hannan, on document fraud charges.

In December, a new indictment charged Hannan and Koubriti with conspiracy to commit mail fraud for allegedly filing a false auto accident insurance claim. Hannan pleaded guilty in March and was deported in May.

Koubriti”s trial has been postponed until at least Oct. 4 and Elmardoudi”s case has yet to be resolved.

&#34The cloud of terrorism was cast away a long time and a resolution of this case is long overdue,&#34 said William Swor, Elmardoudi”s attorney in Detroit.

Elmardoudi was charged in 2001 in Minnesota with stealing telephone credit card numbers. He also faces possible federal charges, said Katherine Menendez, a Minnesota attorney who also represents Elmardoudi.