ALKHOBAR, 15 March — In a dramatic reversal of fortune, a US district court has gone against a prosecutor’s pleas and set bail for Saudi national Naif Al-Yousif at $1,000,000. Al-Yousif is accused of murdering Saudi college student Abdulaziz Al Koohaji in Denver, Colorado, in January 2001. After his arrest, Al-Yousif pleaded not guilty to the charge and has been in jail for more than a year, awaiting trial. Despite now being granted bail, Al-Yousif has thus far been unable to raise the required bond and remains in his Denver prison cell.
Al-Yousif’s trial was scheduled to begin Dec. 10, 2001. However, at a motions hearing before the start of the trial, Al-Yousif’s lawyer, Gary Luzow, argued that his client’s first statement to police, made before he had retained legal representation, should be disallowed. The defense attorney claimed that Al-Yousif did not understand English well enough to knowingly waive his right to be silent and so had unintentionally incriminated himself in the murder.
Consequently, Luzow demanded that Al-Yousif’s interview with the Denver police, and all of the information he provided to them, should be suppressed at trial.
The Denver district attorney argued that Al-Yousif was in the US as a college student and this in itself was proof of his English language proficiency. Witnesses were brought forward who testified that Al-Yousif did and does understand English well enough to know that he was giving up his right to be silent when he chose to talk with police and that his statements should be allowed to be presented at his prosecution. On Dec. 20, 2001, a Denver district court judge granted the defense motion to suppress Al-Yousif’s statement. A few days later the Denver district attorney’s office appealed the ruling. The trial has been delayed until the Colorado Supreme Court makes a decision in the matter. There is no deadline for the decision, so no new date will be set for the trial until it is clear how the case will proceed.
The Denver district attorney’s office has said that even if Al-Yousif’s statement is thrown out, they will move forward with his prosecution. If they are not able to succeed in a murder conviction, Al-Yousif faces other serious charges, including kidnapping. Based on the physical evidence and witness testimony available, prosecutors feel it is highly unlikely he will be able to go free on all counts.
For this reason, the Denver district attorney is furious that Al-Yousif has been granted bail.
According to Lynn Kimbrough, spokesperson of the Denver district attorney’s office, with the prosecutor’s appeal stalled in the Denver Supreme Court, Lozow argued in the Denver district court that since the defendant’s statement is “out” at least for now, there isn’t “proof evident” and “presumption great” to keep Al-Yousif in jail pending the trial.
“Against our strenuous objection,” said Kimbrough, “Al-Yousif was granted bond. It was set at $1,000,000. Additionally, to be released he would have to surrender his passport, have an approved place of residence in Denver, and be subjected to monitoring. Granting bail in such a case is extremely unusual. People charged with murder normally sit in jail until the trial.”
