Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami (1988 TV Movie) User Reviews

a look at the legal system

[garyoverman · 26 October 1999]

It surprises me that so few people seem to be aware of this excellent look at the U.S. legal system.

Sometime in the future a Mid Eastern terrorist (played by Robert Davi) is kidnapped overseas and brought to the federal court in Virginia to stand trial. His reluctant defense attorney is played by Ron Liebman. Sam Waterston is the U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case. Jo Henderson, in her last role, is the judge.

Strong performances, an excellent cast, and a good, legally accurate script characterize this superb drama.

It is a very good movie.

alternate name

[MadAdam · 9/10 · 19 March 2005]

I have it on DVD (in Australia), but it is titled 'In the Hands of the Enemy', and copyrighted 1994. I thought the producers were very brave to take on a subject such as this, and the script, direction and acting is superb all round. It is very realistic, and you can imagine it happening now, particularly with the current world situation. It is a very entertaining movie, and I would recommend it to any one 13 or 15 and over, as it may disturb some younger viewers - you remember how hard it was to explain 9/11 to most kids. It would also be a great movie for teachers to show in class, being great for social studies classes, legal studies or English classes, and would also be good to show for non-educational related purpose in any fun lesson. This is possibly the role that won Sam Waterston his role in Law and Order, and I would recommend fans of that show watch this movie, as the characters are close.

Trying to understand the Arab terrorists

[RennieP · 8/10 · 4 March 2007]

This movie seems to be almost completely unknown, which is unfortunate as it's a pretty good movie, at least if you like thought-provoking movies about international current events.

I chanced upon this movie by accident. I found it for sale on DVD at a flea market for $3 and took a chance and bought it. When I tried to read about it on IMDb I found only three comments! And at Amazon.com there were no reviews at all.

Let's start with the basic facts. This is a made-for-TV movie from 1988. The original title was "Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami". It is being sold on DVD in the USA, the UK, Scandinavia and perhaps elsewhere as "Hostile Witness", and in Australia as "In the Hands of the Enemy". The Scandinavian version that I watched was 125 minutes (too long), while the version being sold in the USA is apparently 100 minutes.

The story is about a Palestinian terrorist named Salim Ajami (Robert Davi) who has been kidnapped in Beirut by American Special Forces personnel and transported to the USA to stand trial for the murder of four American tourists in Spain.

The movie starts with Salim Ajami's arrival in the USA. We see discussions at the Justice Department and the recruitment of a defense lawyer (Ron Leibman) and a prosecution attorney (Sam Waterston). We follow both sides as they prepare for the trial. Then the movie becomes a courtroom drama, and finally the verdict is handed down.

This is not typical light entertainment, and many people may consider it to be boring.

There are many thought-provoking ideas being considered here.

• Does the United States have the right to kidnap a suspected criminal in another country and bring him/her to the USA to stand trial? (What if Danish police kidnapped an American in Los Angeles and brought him to Copenhagen to stand trial?)

• When is a terrorist a terrorist, and when is he a soldier or a freedom-fighter? (Or an "insurgent" or an "enemy combatant" to use the current labels?)

• Was dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan in the Second World War an act of terrorism?

• What can explain the mentality of the Middle East activists who kill innocent people and expect that this will aid their cause?

It is especially this last question that the movie tries to explore. On one hand it is made obvious that Salim Ajami is responsible for unspeakable acts of terrorism, killing and injuring innocent American tourists. On the other hand Salim Ajami comes across as intelligent and articulate, maintaining that he is a soldier who is fighting using a new kind of warfare.

The movie does a fairly good job of giving the viewer the information that allows us to understand Salim Ajami, although not accepting his deeds. This is provided by Salim Ajami's own testimony about the conditions in the Palestinian refugee camps, by descriptions of how Western military operations have killed many Arab civilians, and by the explanations of an Iranian living in the USA about how Arab resentment towards Western colonialism makes any Arab fighter a hero.

This movie was made almost 20 years ago at a time when most people in the West had almost no knowledge of Middle East affairs. As such it was fairly daring. Today we have much more knowledge and many more opinions due to the Gulf War, the 9/11-2001 terrorist attacks, the toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the establishment of the Guantánamo Bay detainment camp and the on-going Iraq War.

Still, even though it is dated it is a pretty good movie for those who like thought-provoking stories that attempt to explain the terrorist mentality. The acting and direction is good and the story is believable.

Rennie Petersen

Mediocre production with outstanding performances.

[TonyTaral · 31 May 2004]

Got to hand it to ya,

Bleckner did a great job directing in this gripping drama piece. But what I found the most impressive aspect of the production was the casting. This is an ensemble of high elegance and talent.

Robert Davi is totally convincing as the "terrorist on trial" And both Sam Waterson and Ron leibman is in the position where you could'nt imagine anyone else in their roles, this is textbook casting.

I had rather low expectations to this movie, mostly because of this DVD release, its a common Scandinavian release, the picture quality is as poor as the soundtrack. But in the end this does not matter at all-.

The story as it is told is as important today as it was then. we deal with some of the same conflicts today. And through this story you get to see the conflict from the Palestinian point of view and their story, and I gotta say it could be a wake up call for the ignorant.