ACLU: Unconscious Bombing Suspect Has Right To Attorney

NEWARK, NJ — The ACLU-NJ wants the right to visit bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, even if he’s unconscious and in the hospital.

On Monday, the civil rights group released a statement claiming that the Union County Prosecutor’s Office has prevented Rahami’s public defender from checking on his condition as he reportedly lays unconscious in a bed at University Hospital in Newark.

Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized United States citizen who is suspected to be involved in weekend bombings in Seaside Park and the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea, has been charged with use of weapons of mass destruction, bombing a place of public use, destruction of property by means of fire or explosive and use of a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.

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“Rahami has been in Newark’s University Hospital since shortly after authorities took him into custody, and according to media reports he is unconscious,” the ACLU-NJ wrote Monday. “The Union County Prosecutor has prevented his local public defender from checking on his client’s condition, based on arguments that Rahami’s reported lack of consciousness means the arrest warrant has not been executed. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office maintains that Rahami is not yet in federal custody and therefore he is not yet entitled to legal counsel.”

The ACLU-NJ said that in order to “ensure the protection of the right of counsel,” until Rahami’s federal public defenders are able to represent him, the group will serve as his legal counsel on federal charges.

• See related article: Ahmad Khan Rahami: Everything We Know About the NYC Bombing Suspect So Far

ACLU-NJ Senior Staff Attorney Alexander Shalom said that it was “extremely disturbing” that Rahami’s lawyers have not been able to verify their client’s health condition, including his level of consciousness.

“The right of an accused person to have an attorney is a fundamental, undeniable right, regardless of the charges,” Shalom said.

Photo 1: Scott Shanker

Photo 2: Union County Prosecutor’s Office