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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Jihad doctors in US :Rafiq Sabir sentenced in '07 for swearing an oath of allegiance to Bin Laden - Rafil Dhafir jailed in NY 2004

Jihad doctors in US :Rafiq Sabir sentenced in '07 for swearing an oath of allegiance to Bin Laden - Rafil Dhafir jailed in NY 2004

July 3, 2007

MIM: Jihadist doctors have also been arrested and convicted in the United States. One of them Rafiq Abdus Sabir an emergency room doctor and convert to Islam living in Boca Raton Florida was sentenced to 30 years in prison for swearing an oath of allegiance to Al Qaeda and scouting locations in Long Island to set up a jihad camp. Oncologist Rafil Dhafir who was jailed in 2004 on terrorism charges [and health insurance fraud). Dhafir fundraised for his Iraq "charity" at the Islamic Center of Boca Raton where Sabir was a congregant. A group of doctors in Hernando, Florida admitted to providing millions of dollars in terrorism funding and several were connected and jailed in the Sami Al Arian case. Al Arian is awaiting deportation after being convicted for being head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and responsible for orchestrating attacks which killed one hundred people and killed scores of others. In addition Al Arian brought Ramadan Abdullah Shallah to the University of South Florida. In 1995 Shallah left Florida to take over leadership of PIJ after the previous leader Fathi Shikaki was killed by the IDF.

Rafiq Sabir - Boca Doctor Found Guilty Of Aiding Al-Qaeda

By William Mayer and Beila Rabinowitz

May 22, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Dr. Rafiq Sabir was convicted yesterday on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda.

Sabir was secretly filmed making the pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda - the bayat - in May 2005.

As we wrote on May 31, 2005:

"On Saturday May 28th the FBI arrested a member of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton - Dr. Rafiq Sabir - on charges which included aiding al-Qaeda and plotting to open a terrorist training camp in Long Island.

Dr. Sabir had been under surveillance for years while a member of the Islamic Center and its spokesman - Daniel McBride - stated that he was a friend of the terrorist suspect."

During Sabir's trial U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia proved that he conspired with a friend, Tarik Shah – working with a man whom they believed to be an al-Qaeda recruiter – to provide martial arts training and render medical assistance to members of the terrorist group.

Unbeknownst to the conspirators, the al-Qaeda "recruiter" was an informant. Sabir, a graduate of Columbia University faces a maximum sentence of thirty years.

Sabir was a congregant at the Islamic Center of Boca Raton [ICBR] and is another example of how American mosques have become radicalized.

ICBR has figured prominently in high level terror prosecutions. Several of the ICBR founders and trustees had links to Sami Al Arian, ICBR key player Bassem Al Halabi, was implicated for exporting thermal imaging equipment to Syria, and the mosque spokesman [a convert to Islam] fled to Saudi Arabia in 2003. The current spokesman, Dan McBride was arrested for tax fraud.

Such events serve to explain the hasty retreat from the ICBR by its former imam, Ibrahim Dremali, a controversial figure in his own right.

Imam Dremali has a long history of radical Muslim activity and anti-Semitic statements. In 2004 Dremali eulogized the father of dirty bomb fugitive - Adnan Shukrijumah - with the words "He [Shukrijumah] had a positive effect on people."

Shukrijumah was named as "Mohammed Atta's successor by law enforcement.

In February 2005 Dremali suddenly left his position as imam of the 7-acre Boca Raton Islamic Center [though Dremali has repeatedly denied that his mosque was linked to terrorists, within weeks of his leaving Boca, Sabir was arrested] to take over the tiny and reportedly cash strapped Islamic Center of Des Moines, Iowa.

In news coverage Dremali casts himself as a hapless 'refugee' who was hounded out of Boca Raton, because he was a Muslim, feigning tears of relief at finding peace and quiet in Iowa.

Born in Gaza when it was still controlled by Egypt [Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, the Eastern sector of Jerusalem and the Golan heights were all liberated by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war]. Dremali later moved to Egypt where he was educated in Islamic religious theology and geology at Al Azhar University.

While there Dremali started his religious training. Dr. Ibrahim Dremali -Sheikh Ibrahim - has a degree in Sharia from Al-Azhar University and a PhD in Geology. Al Azhar University was also the alma mater of Bin Laden's mentor Abdullah Azzam as well as being a center of Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad activities which included the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Dremali fled to the US where he continued his education in geology. In 1998 Dremali co-founded the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, together with FAU professors Bassem Al Halabi and Khalid Hamza, and becoming its Imam.

It didn't take Dremali long to channel his Islamism into political activism in the United States. He participated in a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that were held across from the Israeli Embassy in Miami in 2000. At these events vitriolic speeches were made while Israeli flags were burned.

In October at one of these events - as demonstrators shouted "Haya al Jihad" [Long live Jihad] and "With jihad we'll claim our land, Zionist blood will wet the sand" - Dremali shouted to the crowd:

"...[don't] be sad for those who were martyred and to not be afraid to die for what they believe in."

Apparently Rafiq Sabir took Dremali's message to heart.

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=sabir52207.htm

United States Attorney
Southern District of New York

FLORIDA DOCTOR CONVICTED OF CONSPIRING AND
ATTEMPTING TO SUPPORT AL QAEDA

NEW YORK—Rafiq Sabir was convicted today of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to the al Qaeda terrorist organization, and of attempting to provide material support or resources to al Qaeda, after pledging an oath of loyalty to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in a May 2005 ceremony secretly recorded by an undercover FBI agent, announced U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia for the Southern District of New York.

The evidence at trial proved that Sabir conspired with his good friend, Tarik Shah, to provide martial arts training and medical assistance to al Qaeda through a man whom they believed to be a recruiter for the terrorist organization. The recruiter was in fact an undercover FBI agent who recorded numerous conversations involving Sabir and Shah, including the May 2005 ceremony in the Bronx. During that meeting, Sabir and Shah pledged "bayat," or allegiance, to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and agreed to provide Sabir's medical expertise and Shah's martial arts expertise to train al Qaeda fighters.

From September 2003 through May 2005, Shah engaged in multiple meetings and conversations, first with a confidential source (the "CS") and later with the FBI undercover agent (the "UC"). In these conversations, the vast majority of which were recorded, Shah discussed his desire and intent to aid al Qaeda, and repeatedly discussed his friend, who was a doctor, as being someone who shared his desire. For example, Shah repeatedly indicated his desire to train Muslim "brothers" in the martial arts to help them wage jihad, regularly discussed his desire to find people who were willing to press the fight, and, when meeting the UC for the first time, offered himself and Sabir as a "package." Shah also took steps to find locations where jihad training could be conducted and weapons could be machined.

Shah told the UC and the CS of his discussions with Sabir regarding their desire to move to Afghanistan in 1998, when it was under the control of the Taliban, and of his intention to attend terrorist training camps there. Materials recovered from Shah included the names and telephone numbers of other individuals who had gone overseas to attend such training camps, including Seifullah Chapman—a member of the Virginia Jihad Network who was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2004 for providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba foreign terrorist organization.

At the meeting on May 20, 2005, in the presence of the UC and under the impression that the UC had the authority of al Qaeda, Sabir and Shah took "bayat" —pledging an oath of loyalty to al Qaeda, and committing themselves to the path of Holy War, to the oath of secrecy, and to the directives of al Qaeda and its leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. During that discussion, Sabir stated that he and Shah had been "talking about this for a long time."

Sabir also told the UC that he would soon be returning to Saudi Arabia for two years to work at a hospital in Riyadh and that he enjoyed extraordinary freedom of movement within that country. Evidence at trial established that al Qaeda has engaged in a long-running terror campaign within Saudi Arabia that began in May 2003. Also at the May 2005 meeting, Sabir wrote down his telephone numbers in code, and gave them to the UC for the UC to provide to the "brothers" in Saudi Arabia, inviting them to call him and expressing his desire to meet them.

Sabir faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum term of supervised release of three years. Sabir is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska on Sept. 12, 2007, at 4:00 p.m.

The New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department, led the investigation of this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Rodgers, Victor L. Hou, and Karl Metzner are in charge of the prosecution.

###

http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/terroristsupport052107.htm

MIM: Iraqi born oncologist Rafil Dhafir was sentenced in 2004 on terrorism related charges and defrauding medicaid. His wife was also found guilty of making a false statement to a medicaid investigator. It is worth noting that Dhafir had ties to someone in the UK to whom he sent mysterious emails with a false wedding announcement.

"...Dhafir aroused suspicions by sometimes writing apparent coded e-mails to associates in the Middle East, according to government papers. An affidavit filed by U.S. Attorney Glenn T. Suddaby cites a particularly mysterious example. In December 2002, Dhafir sent an e-mail to a friend in England, inviting him to attend his daughter's wedding in Drumlin Hall in England. Dhafir signed the e-mail "Uncle Ralph."

Dhafir does not have a daughter, and no wedding was scheduled that day in Drumlin Hall.

High-Profile N.Y. Suspect Goes on Trial
Arrest Was Called Part of War on Terrorism, but Doctor Faces Other Charges

By Michael Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Page A02

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Oct. 18 -- Federal prosecutors heralded the arrest 19 months ago as another blow in the Justice Department's war on terrorism. More than 85 federal agents descended on the home of a prominent local doctor, Rafil Dhafir, handcuffing him in his driveway and hauling away dozens of boxes of books and records .

Attorney General John D. Ashcroft spoke of a terrorism supporter apprehended. A federal prosecutor suggested that an Arab engineer who was a friend of Dhafir's might be proficient in fashioning "dirty bombs." And a federal magistrate denied bail to the oncologist, saying he might escape to Canada over the ice on the St. Lawrence River.

But federal prosecutors never filed a terrorism-related charge against Dhafir, 56, who emigrated from Iraq to the United States 32 years ago and became an American citizen. Instead, Dhafir, whose trial starts this week, faces charges that he defrauded a charity he ran and violated U.S. sanctions by sending millions of dollars to feed children and build mosques in pre-invasion Iraq.

Dhafir has also been charged with Medicare fraud and tax evasion, accusations that grew out of the federal terrorism investigation. If convicted, he faces at least 10 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

In a prison interview and a letter to a newspaper, Dhafir has attributed his troubles to anti-Arab bias and fallout from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Humanitarian groups and prominent American corporations have violated U.S. sanctions against Iraq without facing criminal charges, his lawyer contends.

"We believe the government targeted him because he's an Arab American," said Deveraux L. Cannick, Dhafir's attorney. "They rushed to the conclusion that this man was sponsoring terrorism. They colored him as the devil incarnate."

Dhafir's trial begins at a sensitive time for the Justice Department. In early September, a federal judge in Detroit threw out the convictions of three Arab American men accused of belonging to a terrorist "sleeper operational combat cell." A government review has blamed an overzealous prosecutor for withholding evidence from the defense and misrepresenting other evidence in the case.

In June, Sami Omar Hussayen, a Saudi graduate student at the University of Idaho, was acquitted of charges he provided material support to terrorism by running an Internet network that sought to raise money and recruit fighters for holy war abroad. The FBI arrested Hussayen and Dhafir on the same day.

Federal law enforcement sources had suggested a link between the men, who shared membership in the Islamic Assembly of North America, a charity with Web sites that extol radical struggles in Chechnya, Kosovo and the Palestinian territories. Prosecutors have declined to comment on the case, referring reporters to the voluminous document file.

Still, many questions remain unanswered about Dhafir. He allegedly neither filed for a required tax exemption for his charity, Help the Needy, nor obtained a license to send donations to Iraq. He is accused of using false Social Security numbers obtained in the names of several associates to open charity bank accounts, and of siphoning money from the charity to buy real estate in the United States.

Dhafir aroused suspicions by sometimes writing apparent coded e-mails to associates in the Middle East, according to government papers. An affidavit filed by U.S. Attorney Glenn T. Suddaby cites a particularly mysterious example. In December 2002, Dhafir sent an e-mail to a friend in England, inviting him to attend his daughter's wedding in Drumlin Hall in England. Dhafir signed the e-mail "Uncle Ralph."

Dhafir does not have a daughter, and no wedding was scheduled that day in Drumlin Hall.

Cannick, Dhafir's attorney, said much of the government's case will fall apart. Confusion inevitably arises, he said, when key evidence is written in Arabic. Others argue that Dhafir was taking precautions to avoid Saddam Hussein's secret police in Iraq.

Dhafir risked missing his own trial by refusing as a matter of religious faith to consent to strip searches before leaving the county lockup. On Monday, a judge waived that requirement.

Who Is He?

The doctor walked into the interview cell dressed in a pale blue jail jumpsuit. His black beard was broad and streaked with white, and he smiled and put his palm flat against the glass as a sort of prison handshake. Dhafir has tried five times to win release on bond, and each time has been denied.

He says the time in prison has not been lost. "I've been able to counsel a number of youths here and I believe I've touched some," he said through a prison phone. "That gives me pleasure."

This is the Dhafir who his supporters talk of, a man who gives tens of thousands of dollars to charity and who often allows poor or working-class patients of all faiths to pay but a portion of their chemotherapy expenses. He has lent employees money to pay off mortgages and to hire lawyers to represent wayward children, and he never asks for repayment, they said.

"He gives you hope," said Peggy Tosti, who has fought three types of cancer and lives in a small home in Upstate New York. "He would laugh and talk, and he never, ever, pressed me to pay him. His faith is inspirational."

Dhafir is a Salafist, a believer in a fundamentalist strain of Islam that regards most Muslim practice as polluted by idolatry. Salafis strive to return to the religion's austere roots. It is a variant of Wahhabism, the strict brand of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden is an adherent, though by no means do all Salafis support terrorism. FBI agents and prosecutors have repeatedly raised Dhafir's Salafism as a matter of concern.

"It's enormously difficult to sort out," said Michael Doran, a professor in Princeton University's Department of Near Eastern Studies. "It's quite possible that he has only honorable intentions. Or it's possible that it's not so innocent."

Dhafir founded Help the Needy in 1996 to send money to Iraqi children. Under economic sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Persian Gulf War, 1 million Iraqi children became chronically malnourished by 1997, according to the United Nations. "This may sound naive, but . . . children were dying," Dhafir said. "I had to do something."

Dhafir proved to be a prodigious fundraiser. But he was, at the least, sloppy with records. He used a tax-exempt number assigned to a different charity, the Somali Relief Network. Some Help the Needy funds paid for animals for slaughter at religious festivals, after which meat was given to the poor. Other money paid for the construction of mosques and the hiring of preachers, costs that Dhafir did not mention in his fundraising appeals in the United States.

The federal investigation of Dhafir began in 1999, when Fleet Bank notified federal prosecutors that an associate of Help the Needy had deposited 100 checks. Each was for just under $10,000, raising suspicions of money laundering.

Prosecutors apparently asked Medicare officials to examine Dhafir's billing records as part of a potential terrorism investigation. Medicare officials say that he charged the top rate for chemotherapy sessions, which requires the doctor's presence in the office. But Dhafir often was overseas at the time.

After Dhafir's arrest, his wife, Priscilla, pleaded guilty to a count of making a false statement to a Medicare investigator. FBI agents asked Dhafir's employees if they were allowed to celebrate Christmas (they were). And they questioned more than 100 local Muslims, asking about Dhafir but also how often they prayed and whether they attended mosques, according to a dozen friends and former employees of Dhafir's.

"It was all about the T-word," Dhafir said. "I don't recognize myself in their accounts."

Terror Accusations

There is a shadow-boxing quality to the terror allegations lodged against Dhafir. In August, Gov. George E. Pataki (R) described Dhafir's as a "money laundering case to help terrorist organizations . . . conduct horrible acts." Prosecutors hinted at national security reasons for holding Dhafir without bail. But no evidence was offered to support the allegations.

"The government plays the fear card to keep people locked up," said Barry Boss, a defense lawyer in the District and former federal public defender who is writing a book on criminal procedure. "It's unusual for a professional charged in a white-collar case with no history of flight to be held without bond."

Last week, U.S. District Judge Norman A. Mordue prohibited Dhafir's attorneys from raising the question of selective prosecution because he is a Muslim. Nor can his attorneys mention that authorities have offered no evidence of a terrorism tie. Mordue said that such issues have nothing to do with the charges lodged against Dhafir.

Back at the county lockup, Dhafir shrugged when asked about the prospect of decades behind bars. "Religion is what keeps me going. I know that nothing happens without a reason." He offered a slight smile. "But sometimes you won't know what it is until the end."

---------------

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/June/06_crm_389.html

Rafil Dhafir, Osameh Al-Wahaidy, Ayman Jarwan (Northern District of New York) – In February 2005, a federal jury convicted Dhafir of participating in a conspiracy to unlawfully send money to Iraq and money laundering. Dhafir was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Al-Wahaidy and Jarwan pleaded guilty to charges in the same case.

Department of Justice Examples of Terrorism Convictions Since Sept. 11, 2001

Below are examples of some of the convictions obtained by the Department of Justice in terrorism cases since Sept. 11, 2001:

Hassan Moussa Makki (Eastern District of Michigan) – In September 2003, Hassan Makki pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and providing material support to Hizbollah in conjunction with the Mohammed Hammoud case in Charlotte, NC. Makki was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

Richard Reid (District of Massachusetts) – British national Richard Reid was sentenced to life in prison following his guilty plea in January 2003 on charges of attempting to ignite a shoe bomb while on an airplane from Paris to Miami. Reid was subdued by passengers on the Dec. 22, 2001 American Airlines flight before he could ignite the explosives.

John Walker Lindh (Eastern District of Virginia) – Lindh pleaded guilty in July 2002 to one count of supplying services to the Taliban and a charge that he carried weapons while fighting on the Taliban's front lines in Afghanistan against the Northern Alliance. Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Lackawanna Six: Shafal Mosed, Yahya Goba, Sahim Alwan, Mukhtar Al-Bakri, Yasein Taher , Elbaneh Jaber (Western District of New York) – Six defendants from the Lackawanna, New York area pleaded guilty to charges of providing material support to al Qaeda, based on their attendance at an al Qaeda terrorist training camp. The defendants were sentenced to terms ranging from seven years to 10 years in prison.

Portland Cell: Maher "Michael" Hawash, October Martinique Lewis, Habis Abdullah Al-Saoub, Patrice Lamumba Ford, Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, Jeffrey Leon Battle (District of Oregon) – The defendants in the so-called "Portland Cell" case pleaded guilty to criminal charges ranging from laundering money to conspiracy to supply goods to the Taliban, to seditious conspiracy. Ford and Battle were each sentenced to 18 years in prison. The charges resulted from an investigation into the defendants' training for preparation to fight violent jihad in Afghanistan.

Earnest James Ujaama (Western District of Washington) – Pursuant to a cooperation agreement, Earnest James Ujaama was sentenced to two years in jail in February 2004 following his guilty plea on a charge of conspiring to supply goods and services to the Taliban in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Sayed Mustajab Shah, Ilyas Ali, Muhammed Abid Afridi (Southern District of California) – In April 2006, Muhammed Abid Afridi was sentenced to 57 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and hashish and one count of providing material support to terrorists. Afridi was arrested in September 2002 and indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2002 along with co-defendants Sayed Mustajab Shah and Ilyas Ali for their involvement in an international drugs-for-weapons program. Shah's sentencing is scheduled for June 2006. Ali was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

Carlos Ali Romero Valera, Uwe Jensen, Edgar Fernando Blanco Puerta, Elkin Alberto Arroyave Ruiz, Carlos Adolfo Romero-Panchano, Fanny Cecilia Barrera De-Amaris, Adriana Gladys Mora (Southern District of Texas) – As part of Operation White Terror, Carlos Ali Romero Valera, Uwe Jensen, Edgar Fernando Blanco Puerta, and Elkin Alberto Arroyave Ruiz were convicted on charges of supplying material support to a terrorist organization (the United Self-Defense Forces (AUC) of Colombia) through a weapons-for-drugs deal. In December 2005, Fanny Cecilia Barrera de Amaris and Carlos Adolfo Romero-Panchano were convicted on charges of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Both were extradited in 2004 and pleaded guilty. Barrera de Amaris was sentenced to five years and one month in prison while Panchano was sentenced to three years. Adriana Gladys Mora was convicted in January 2004 of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization and distributing cocaine.

Iyman Faris (Eastern District of Virginia) – In October 2003, Iyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support and resources to al Qaeda and conspiracy for providing the terrorist organization with information about possible U.S. targets for attack. Faris pleaded guilty in May 2003.

Virginia Jihad: Masoud Ahmad Khan, Seifullah Chapman, Hammad Abdur-Raheem (Eastern District of Virginia) – In the Virginia Jihad case, Masound Ahmad Khan was convicted in March 2004 of eight charges including conspiracy to levy war against the United States; providing support to the Taliban and conspiracy to provide support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET); and gun violations. He was later sentenced to life in prison. Hammad Abdur-Raheem was convicted on three charges of providing material support to LET, firearms and conspiracy charges, and later sentenced to 52 months in prison on each count. Seifullah Chapman was convicted on five counts, including conspiracy to provide material to LET and weapons charges, and later sentenced to 780 months in prison.

Virginia Jihad: Aatique Mohammed, Donald Thomas Surratt, Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, Yong Ki Kwon, Randall Todd Royer, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi (Eastern District of Virginia) – Also in the Virginia Jihad case, these six defendants pleaded guilty to various charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and weapons violations, and were sentenced to terms ranging from 46 months to 20 years in prison.

Virginia Jihad: Ali Al-Timimi (Eastern District of Virginia) – Al-Timimi was convicted in April 2005 on all 10 charges brought against him in connection with the "Virginia Jihad" case. Al-Timimi, a spiritual leader at a mosque in Northern Virginia, encouraged other individuals at a meeting to go to Pakistan to receive military training from Lashkar-e-Taibi, a designated foreign terrorist organization, in order to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Al-Timimi was sentenced to life in prison.

Abdurahman Alamoudi (Eastern District of Virginia) – In October 2004, Alamoudi was sentenced to 23 years in prison for his activities in the United States and abroad with nations and organizations that have ties to terrorism. In September 2003, Alamoudi was arrested at Dulles International Airport and pleaded guilty in July 2004 to three federal offenses: violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; false statements made in his application for naturalization; and a tax offense involving a long-term scheme to conceal from the IRS his financial transactions with Libya and his foreign bank accounts and to omit material information from the tax returns filed by his charities.

Hamant Lakhani (District of New Jersey) – British national Hemant Lakhani was convicted by a federal jury on charges of attempting to sell shoulder-fired missiles to what he thought was a terrorist group intent on shooting down U.S. airliners. Lakhani was sentenced to 47 years in prison.

Mohammed Junair Babar (Southern District of New York) – In June 2004, Mohammed Junaid Babar, a naturalized American originally from Pakistan, pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiring to provide material support to Al Qaeda. He is awaiting sentencing.

Lynne Stewart, Mohammed Yousry, Ahmed Abdel Sattar, (Southern District of New York) – In February 2005, a federal jury in Manhattan convicted attorney Lynne Stewart, Mohammed Yousry, and Ahmed Abdel Sattar on charges including providing, and concealing the provision of, material support or resources to terrorists. The defendants were associates of Sheikh Abdel-Rahman, leader of the terrorist organization Islamic Group (IG), who is serving a life sentence for his role in terrorist activity, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

Rafil Dhafir, Osameh Al-Wahaidy, Ayman Jarwan (Northern District of New York) – In February 2005, a federal jury convicted Dhafir of participating in a conspiracy to unlawfully send money to Iraq and money laundering. Dhafir was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Al-Wahaidy and Jarwan pleaded guilty to charges in the same case.

Mohammad Ali Hasan Al-Moayad, Mohammed Moshen Yahya Zayed (Eastern District of New York) – In March 2005, a federal jury convicted Al-Moayad, a Yemeni cleric, and Zayed on charges of providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda and Hamas. Al-Moayad was sentenced to 75 years in prison; Zayed was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Zacarias Moussaoui (Eastern District of Virginia) – In April 2005, Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty to six charges against him related to his participation in the September 11th conspiracy. In May 2006, Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison.

Basman Elashi, Bayan Elashi, Ghassan Elashi, Hazim Elashi, Ihsan Elashi (Northern District of Texas) – In April 2005, a federal jury convicted Basman, Bayan and Ghassan Elashi, and the Infocom Corporation, on charges of conspiracy to deal in the property of a specially designated terrorist and money laundering. The activities were related to Infocom, an Internet Service provider believed to be a front for Hamas. Hazim and Ihsan Elashi were also convicted in the same case and were sentenced to 66 months and 72 months in prison, respectively.

Mark Robert Walker (Western District of Texas) – In April 2005, Walker was sentenced to two years in prison for aiding a terrorist organization. He was indicted in December 2004 and pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to make a contribution of goods and services to a designated terrorist organization (Al-Ittihad Al-Isiami in Somalia).

Carlos Gamarra-Murillo (Middle District of Florida) – In August 2005, Gamarra-Murillo was sentenced to 25 years in prison for engaging in the business of brokering and exporting defense articles without a license and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization (FARC). Gamarra-Murillo was charged in April 2004 and pleaded guilty in February 2005.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali (Eastern District of Virginia) – In November 2005, a federal jury convicted Ali on all counts of an indictment charging him with terrorism offenses, including providing material support and resources to al Qaeda, conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States, conspiracy to commit air piracy and conspiracy to destroy aircraft. Ali was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Uzair Paracha (Southern District of New York) -- Paracha was convicted in November 2005 on charges of providing material support to al Qaeda. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Paracha agreed with his father and two al Qaeda members to provide material support to al Qaeda by, among other things, trying to help an al Qaeda member re-enter the United States to commit a terrorist act.

Hamid Hayat (Eastern District of California) – On April 25, 2006, a federal jury in Sacramento convicted Hamid Hayat of Lodi, California, of one count of providing material support or resources to terrorists and three counts of lying to the FBI in a terrorism investigation. The jury found that Hayat provided material support to terrorists by attending a jihad training camp overseas, and that he attempted to conceal his training from the FBI. Hayat faces up to 39 years in prison; sentencing is scheduled for July 2006.

Ali Asad Chandia and Mohammed Ajmal Khan (Eastern District of Virginia)On June 6, 2006, Ali Asad Chandia was found guilty on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar e Taiba (LET). This case resulted from the continuation of the Virginia Jihad investigation. All four counts of the indictment rested upon the premise that Chandia and Mohammed Ajmal Khan conspired to provide, and did provide, material support to LET both before and after it was designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Chandia met Khan, a senior official and procurement officer for LET, at an office of that organization in Pakistan in late-2001. Khan traveled to the United States in 2002 and 2003 to acquire equipment for Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Chandia assisted him in these efforts both times.

A jury found Chandia guilty of three of the four counts of the indictment.Chandia's sentencing is set for August 18, 2006. Khan is serving a nine-year sentence in the UK on terrorism charges; the U.S. will seek his extradition at the conclusion of that sentence.

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