[JURIST] A federal judge has ruled that a former terrorist suspect can sue a county in Detroit for alleged abuse while he was in jail. Karim Koubriti, a Moroccan national, was convicted in 2003 of document fraud and conspiracy to aid terrorists after he and three others were accused [indictment, PDF] of establishing a terrorist "sleeper cell" in Detroit [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The convictions were later overturned [JURIST report] after the US Department of Justice [official website] agreed [JURIST report] that federal prosecutors were not forthcoming with evidence [JURIST report] which would have benefited Koubriti and his co-defendants.

Koubriti has alleged that he was unnecessarily strip searched, denied exercise, and isolated for 23 hours a day during his three years in the Wayne County, Michigan jail [official website]. US District Judge Bernard Friedman [official profile] rejected the county's bid to dismiss Koubriti's lawsuit last week but no trial date has yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, the US government is working to retry Koubriti on insurance fraud charges. AP has more. The Detroit Free Press has local coverage.