Suspected al Qaeda operative charged in U.S. court

Suspected al Qaeda operative Ali al-Marri has been charged with conspiracy and material support for terrorism, shifting him into the U.S. legal system after 5-1/2 years at a military prison in South Carolina, according to court documents unsealed on Friday.
The Obama administration's decision to move the Qatari national into the U.S. court system represented a significant shift in policy from the Bush administration, which had argued that Marri could be held indefinitely without being charged.
Marri is the last of three terrorism suspects who had been held by the military in the United States without charges as an "enemy combatant." He has a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging his indefinite imprisonment.
The indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury in Peoria, Illinois, on Thursday and unsealed on Friday charged Marri with two counts of providing material support or resources to al Qaeda.
Marri could face up to 15 years in prison on each count.