Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the Libyan national accused of orchestrating the 2012 terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, is arguing in a federal court that he should be returned to Libya because his capture and subsequent detention on a U.S. Navy ship was unlawful.
“The government conceived and executed a deliberate plan to capture Mr. Abu Khatallah and transport him to the United States in a manner intended to facilitate the government’s prosecution while violating not only Mr. Abu Khatallah’s fundamental rights, but also domestic and international law,” Abu Khatallah’s legal team wrote in court filings Monday.
Abu Khatallah pleaded not guilty last year to a litany of charges related to his role in the deaths of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, as well as the destruction of a diplomatic compound.
The defense argued Monday that the U.S. “illegally deployed the military to violate the sovereignty of Libya” when it sent special forces into the country to capture Abu Khatallah and brought him to the United States aboard the USS New York.
But instead of facing a military trial, Abu Khatallah was indicted in criminal court last summer.
His defense attorneys argued the military transported Abu Khatallah on a ship rather than in an airplane “for the explicit purpose of illegally interrogating him for almost two weeks.”
While en route to the U.S. aboard a military ship, Abu Khatallah was not afforded the same constitutional protections he would have enjoyed had he been interrogated through traditional law enforcement channels.
The U.S. does not have a formal extradition treaty with Libya, but has developed an agreement to share investigative efforts when possible.
The Obama administration’s decision to hold Abu Khatallah in the U.S. and try him in civilian court has drawn fire from critics who argue the Benghazi suspect should have been taken to Guantanamo Bay if he was subjected to a long stretch of military interrogations.
Abu Khatallah’s legal case could refocus attention on the 2012 attack, which occurred while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state and has served as a major blight on her State Department record.
Clinton is set to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Oct. 22.
