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| Fifth Column | |
| Florida Doctor Convicted Of Aiding al-Qaeda | |
| 2007-05-22 | |
| A Florida doctor was convicted Monday of providing material support to terrorists by agreeing to treat injured Al Qaeda fighters so they could return to Iraq to battle Americans. Dr. Rafiq Abdus Sabir, 52, was convicted in Manhattan federal court after a three-week trial that featured testimony by him and Ali Soufan, an FBI agent who posed as an Al Qaeda recruiter in a sting operation that led to four arrests. When the verdict was read, Sabir just looked straight ahead. Later, as he was escorted from the courtroom, he waved to supporters, who said, "Stay strong." His lawyer, Ed Wilford, said, "We are deeply disappointed in the verdict." The charges against the Harlem-born Sabir, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, carry a potential maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The verdict came after jurors heard audio tapes of a May 2005 ceremony in a Bronx apartment in which Sabir and his best friend, Tariq Shah, a martial arts expert and jazz musician, pledged loyalty to Al Qaeda and, the government alleged, Usama bin Laden. Shah pleaded guilty just before trial to providing material support to a terrorist organization and agreed to serve 15 years in prison, though he has not yet been formally sentenced. A Brooklyn bookstore owner who pleaded guilty was sentenced to 13 years in prison. A Washington, D.C., cab driver has pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 15 years in prison. Sabir, of Boca Raton, Fla., testified at trial that Shah never told him he was talking with an Al Qaeda recruiter. At the pledge ceremony, Soufan mispronounced Al Qaeda more than a dozen times, Sabir said. He also said he did not know "sheik Usama" meant bin Laden.
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| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #7 I guess you could say "His name is Mudd". |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-05-22 23:32 |
| #6 Is a doctor forbidden from treating people who are believed to be criminals? Forbidden in not reporting treating such a one to the police. Let alone establishing a practice of such cases. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-05-22 20:42 |
| #5 Bobby, I seem to recall the good doctor was going to, or perhaps it was in, Saudi Arabia or Kuwait at the time, treating American troops and other English speakers. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-22 13:54 |
| #4 ...treat injured Al Qaeda fighters so they could return to Iraq to battle Americans. Why would they want to go back? Once they got to the Land of the Great Satan, why not explode yourself in a gas station, or go postal in a suburban mall? Are you trying to suggest, Mr. Un-named AP Reporter, that Jihadis would rather fight our soldiers in Iraq than kill civilians right here? Why, that would make George W. Bush a genius! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-05-22 07:11 |
| #3 Is a doctor forbidden from treating people who are believed to be criminals? In general he is forbidden to NOT treat people who need it, regardless of whether they are criminals. I know it is arguing the extreme, but shouldn't this ruling mean Navy corpsmen don't treat wounded al Quada who are captured? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-05-22 07:04 |
| #2 AND take away his medical license; he's to ignorant to practice medicine. |
| Posted by: GK 2007-05-22 04:15 |
| #1 Guilty ! Throw away the key. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-05-22 01:04 |