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| al-Arian Trial: Jihad Bomber Inspired `Pride' | |
| 2005-07-22 | |
| TAMPA - A young man riding a bicycle approached soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint in the Gaza Strip on Nov. 11, 1994. What the soldiers didn't know was that 21-year-old Hesham Hamd had 22 pounds of explosives strapped around his chest. Hamd, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, detonated the bomb, killing himself and three others. Prosecutors say University of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian wrote a fax later that day: ``Pride and glory overwhelmed us.'' ``May God bless your efforts and accept our martyrs. Please be cautious and on the alert. Our greetings to all.'' It is signed ``Amin,'' which is Al-Arian's middle name and among the names commonly appearing throughout the government evidence in his terror-support trial. The fax, which Al-Arian was unable to send for three days, was entered into evidence Thursday in the trial that charges him and three other men with racketeering, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorists. The fax was sent to a telephone number in Damascus, Syria, where the Islamic Jihad is based. In addition, prosecutors submitted an Islamic Jihad communique issued a day after the attack claiming responsibility and saying it was revenge for Israelis' slaying of a Palestinian professor and editor. Prosecutors acknowledge they have no evidence to show Al-Arian ever planned an attack or knew about one in advance, but they contend a series of exhibits admitted by U.S. District Judge James Moody on Thursday, including the bicycle-attack evidence, shows Al-Arian was among the first people notified afterward. The Islamic Jihad communique was faxed to his home, as were other announcements in evidence and correspondence with the Islamic Jihad's founder, Fathi Shikaki. FBI agents obtained copies of the communications through warrants secured under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law that authorizes eavesdropping on people suspected of being agents of a foreign power or terrorist group. Intelligence agents have had the copies for years, but they only became available to criminal investigators in 2002 when Justice Department policies on handling the evidence were tossed out by a secret review court. In addition, prosecutors say they found the wills of three Islamic Jihad attackers on a computer at the World and Islam Studies Enterprise, a think tank Al-Arian founded. On April 6, 1992, the three men participated in a suicide attack on Israeli soldiers that killed two people and injured five others. Computer records indicate the wills were entered into WISE computers four days later. ``If we cannot destroy today this house, the Jews' state, we can ignite a fire in its regions,'' attacker Khaled Muhammed Hassan wrote. ``And if we ignite it everywhere, no one will be able to extinguish it. We should charge the atmosphere of enmity and create a flammable Jihad climate that needs a match stick only.'' Nizar Mahmoud urged others to follow his path: ``Brothers, martyrdom is not similar to desperation, suffering or difficulty, but it is the judgment of God on Judgment Day.'' Moody cautioned jurors that possessing the wills is not a crime and that they must find the defendants were part of a criminal conspiracy before using the wills against them. He issued a similar instruction about a 1981 document agents found in Al-Arian's home during a 1995 search. The document is an outline for The Center for Studies, Intelligence and Information. Federal prosecutor Alexis Collins called the outline ``a trade craft manual for running an intelligence organization from a university'' and said Al- Arian has publicly acknowledged possessing it. Al-Arian has said the document was written by children at a camp.
The trial will resume Monday morning. Prosecutors say they have about 90 more translations to enter into evidence. After that, jurors may spend months listening to agents read the contents of the intercepted telephone calls and faxes. This is a great demonstration of why the law enforcement model will not protect us. We need to decide what is to be better protected, the public saftey or the rights of the accused. | |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |