MIAMI - Jurors in the terrorism support and conspiracy trial of Jose Padilla heard his voice on an FBI wiretap for the first time Friday, in a conversation that prosecutors say proves he was getting ready to fight jihad overseas.In the July 1997 intercepted phone call, co-defendant Adham Amin Hassoun tells Padilla in English that "the most important thing is that you tell me you're ready." The FBI's lead investigator in the case testified that Hassoun was talking about going to an area of jihad, or Islamic holy war. "God willing ... it's going to happen soon," Padilla responds. He later adds: "Believe me, brother, it's going to happen soon."
Padilla also tells Hassoun that he is prepared to obey an "emir," or commander, wherever he is sent, even if that person is younger. "You have to have a lot of discipline too, brother," Padilla says on the tape. "You have to have discipline and obedience."
Prosecutors say Hassoun recruited Padilla to fight for Islamic extremist causes overseas as part of a North American jihad support network. Hassoun, who was a prominent speaker and fundraiser in South Florida mosques, met Padilla while both were living in Broward County just north of Miami. Padilla, Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi are charged with being part of a support cell for Islamic extremist groups worldwide, including al-Qaida. Another alleged Hassoun recruit, Mohamed Hesham Youssef, is on many more of the tapes. Youssef was also indicted in the Miami case but is in custody in Egypt and is not part of the current trial.
The FBI wiretaps from 1994-2001 form the heart of the prosecution's case against the three defendants. Padilla's voice is heard on seven intercepts, and he is mentioned on about two dozen others. Several intercepted calls were played Friday between Hassoun in Florida and Youssef in Cairo; prosecutors say they discussed where Youssef should travel to fight in Muslim causes. They allege Hassoun wanted Youssef in 1997 to go to an area along the Ethiopia-Somalia border where Ethiopian soldiers were battling Muslim fighters.
In one call, Hassoun tells Youssef that "about 56 of the brothers got married." The lead FBI investigator, Agent John T. Kavanaugh, testified that was code for mujahedeen fighters killed fighting the Ethiopian army.
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It's not clear in that conversation whether Hassoun is referring to money or sacrifices that Padilla would be expected to make. Earlier, he was recorded telling Youssef not to worry about his possessions and family in getting ready for jihad. "Just get yourself ready and forget about the worldly brides and worldly home," Hassoun says.
Padilla eventually traveled to Egypt and then made his way to Afghanistan, where prosecutors say he filled out a form in 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp. On the July 1997 tape, Padilla complains at one point to Hassoun that Youssef "talks too much" and that Hassoun reminds Padilla to be careful on the telephone.
Prosecutors will likely continue to play FBI wiretap tapes when testimony resumes Tuesday.