"Us? Abuse our authority? Never!"

The Washington Post for December 31 calls Benamar Benatta

one of the last lost men of 9/11. Jailed on the day of the 2001 attacks, 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 came to the US in 2000 for training, then decided to stay here but lacked legal permission. He later tried to cross into Canada but was being held at the border when 911 happened. He was sent back to the US and placed in solitary confinement in Brooklyn.

He remained in prison for two months, without a lawyer, until November, 2001, when the FBI cleared him of all connections with terrorism.

But he still remained in prison for another month, without a lawyer, until December, 2001, when federal prosecutors filed a criminal charge of carrying false identification. He was not told of the charge.

And he still remained in prison for nearly another two years, until September 2003, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder declared "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" and that prosecutors had repeatedly violated his rights. The federal prosecutor in Buffalo agreed to drop all charges against Benatta.

But still he remains in prison, now facing a deportation charge, because he is unable to make the $25,000 bond.

Now he has someone who says he will take him in during his appeal and another who has promised to find him a job as well as a pro bono lawyer who is asking to have the bond waived. We'll see what the feds have to say about that.

Footnote: Thanks to Information ClearingHouse (link at left) for the link to the article.