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| Great White North |
| Alberta man charged with plot to wage worldwide jihad |
| 2005-03-30 |
| A former Edmonton-area cinema owner has been charged in the United States with raising cash and recruiting Muslim extremists in North America throughout the 1990s to help wage a worldwide Islamic jihad. Kassem Daher, linked by CSIS to al-Qaeda, is a Lebanese native who came to Canada in the 1980s as a business immigrant. Daher, who once ran movie theatres in Leduc and Ponoka, left Canada in 1998. In 2000, he was arrested in Lebanon after a shootout between police and alleged terrorists. After his arrest, Daher's relatives denied he was ever involved in terrorism and urged the Canadian government to intervene on his behalf. He was never formally charged with a crime in Lebanon or Canada and has been free on bail for the past year, Barbara Campion, a spokeswoman for CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) told CanWest News Service on Tuesday. But a criminal complaint unsealed this week in Florida named Daher -- along with three other men, including a former Detroit public school administrator -- as co-conspirators in a network aimed at supporting terrorist activities around the globe. The alleged network came to light on Monday following the arrest of Kifah Wael Jayyousi, a former assistant superintendent in Detroit's school system. Authorities told the Detroit Free Press that Jayyousi was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Detroit airport after arriving from Qatar via Amsterdam. U.S. customs agents detained Jayyousi after a computer check showed he was wanted on a federal terrorism warrant issued in Miami, along with two other men: Adham Amin Hassoun and Daher. Jayyousi and Daher are charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources for terrorism and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure people or damage property in a foreign country. The first charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The second carries a maximum penalty of 35 years to life in prison. Jayyousi is to appear in court in Detroit today. Earlier this week, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami released a 14-page affidavit sworn out by FBI agent John T. Kavanaugh detailing what he described as the "Jayyousi-Daher-Hassoun North American Support Network" for Islamic terror. "The investigation of Jayyousi, Daher (and) Hassoun began in late 1993 and revealed that they had formed a network across North America to fundraise for and recruit mujahedeen to train and fight in various jihad areas including but not limited to Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, and Somalia," the affidavit states. "During the times relevant to this investigation, Daher resided in Leduc, Canada." FBI surveillance teams recorded numerous conversations between the three men and others involved in the network, including onetime leader Mohamed Zaky, who died in 1995 fighting in Chechnya. In one February 1995 conversation, Jayyousi, Daher and Zaky allegedly discussed how the network was moving jihadist soldiers between Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, and Eritrea. Daher said "we are in charge of it in Canada," according to the affidavit, and added that "we have brothers in Lebanon who are ready to go to Chechnya but there's no money." "Daher and Jayyousi also discussed setting up a for-profit business in order to fund jihad," the affidavit states. "Daher then mentioned his organization, the Canadian Islamic Association, which he described as a 'cover, I mean it's very good.' " In January 2000, several Lebanese soldiers were killed in clashes with suspected members of a terrorist group called Takfir wal-Hijra. On Feb. 2, Lebanese troops descended on suspects in the city of Karaoun and a shootout ensued, described by local media as a "spectacular gunfight." Government authorities arrested Daher and eight other suspected Takfir wal-Hijra members, and seized a stockpile of weapons that included rocket launchers and mortars. Campion said Tuesday that CSIS believes Daher is still in Lebanon. "We believe him to be implicated in terrorist activity," she added, but would not comment further except to say that "he hasn't been in this country for seven years." Daher was named last month by CSIS director Jim Judd when he appeared before a House of Commons committee and described the network of suspected Islamic terrorists that has operated in Canada. Relatives of Daher say he is innocent. "It's outrageous but what are you going to do?" his brother-in-law, Jim, said from Hobbema on Tuesday. "People can just say whatever the hell they want and people believe it," Jim said. "As far as I know, he's a nice guy. The allegations ... are a bunch of bull as far as I'm concerned." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 "As far as I know, he’s a nice guy. The allegations ... are a bunch of bull as far as I’m concerned." The easy way to take care of him: 1. Send him to Florida; 2. Put him on a feeding tube; 3. Get Judge Greer to review his case |
| Posted by: anymouse 2005-03-30 3:24:08 PM |
| #1 "People can just say whatever the hell they want and people believe it," Jim said. You're soooo right there, Jim. "He was a nice boy." - Third Grade teacher. "He mowed my lawn." - former neighbor. "He liked my cookies." - Grandmother. Obviously, he's innocent. Let it be written. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-03-30 10:59:48 AM |