Posted on 12/07/2003 7:51:57 PM PST by witnesstothefall
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- A University of Idaho graduate student who is under investigation for suspected terrorism ties obtained unauthorized access to a campus lab containing radioactive material, court documents allege.
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, a Saudi national working on his computer science doctoral degree, quietly moved his student office from the Computer Science Department into the school's engineering isotope lab, apparently without his adviser's knowledge, according to the documents.
"The investigation of Sami Al-Hussayen has, from its outset, been focused on suspected material support to terrorism, particularly to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network," FBI agent Michael Gnecknow said in the documents.
"I have yet to see any piece of evidence, when viewed as part of the totality of information developed, that would dissuade me from believing that Sami Al-Hussayen is supporting terrorism," Gnecknow said.
FBI agents say they were worried the nuclear waste could be used in a "dirty bomb." Such devices involve the use of conventional explosives to spread around radioactive waste.
Al-Hussayen is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 20 on charges of student visa fraud. He remains in custody without bond.
Although he has only been charged with visa fraud, authorities claim Al-Hussayen raised money that was funneled to Islamic charities including the Islamic Assembly of North America, which is under investigation for suspected terrorist ties. Al-Hussayen has denied the allegations.
Defense attorneys were unavailable for immediate comment Sunday.
This is some scary stuff.
Well, now, we can't hurt someone's feelings. Better that hundreds, thousand, or even millions should perish than for non-citizenry to have their feelings hurt.
Prosecutors take issue with lawyer for Al-Hussayen (terrorist/saudi gov link)
Al-Hussayen's wife shared terrorist views, FBI claims
They'll try to do it a day of two before Christmas, when lots of people are shopping and traveling
If they hit us again, using a dirty bomb, every muslim in the US will be deported for their own good. Because they will all be killed otherwise.
My suggestion: Buy lots of guns and ammo. You'll need it in due time.
You are mad, Tom. Quite so.
Access to lab part of UI terrorism case In court papers, FBI worries about N-waste use for `dirty bomb'
Bill Morlin Staff writer
Newly filed court documents say a University of Idaho graduate student, under investigation for suspected terrorism ties, obtained unauthorized access to a campus lab containing radioactive material.
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, a Saudi national working on his computer science doctoral degree at the Moscow university, quietly moved his student office into the school's engineering isotope lab, according to the documents.
He moved from the Computer Science Department, where he was enrolled, apparently without his adviser's knowledge, the documents say. It's not clear in the records when he did so.
Al-Hussayen, arrested in February on the Moscow campus, is scheduled to stand trial in January on charges of visa fraud and lying to federal agents. He remains in custody without bond. His wife, who was in the United States illegally, is to voluntarily return to Saudi Arabia soon.
His trial likely will be postponed if he is charged with additional, more serious charges of providing material support to terrorists.
"The investigation of Sami Al-Hussayen has, from its outset, been focused on suspected material support to terrorism, particularly to Osama bin Laden's alQaeda network," FBI agent Michael Gnecknow said in the court documents.
"I have yet to see any piece of evidence, when viewed as part of the totality of information developed, that would dissuade me from believing that Sami Al-Hussayen is supporting terrorism," Gnecknow said.
Sami Al-Hussayen was the Web master for the Islamic Assembly of North America and another Internet site where two radical Saudi sheiks, Salman Al-Awdah and Safar al-Hawali, espoused violence against the West, investigators say.
At the time of his arrest, University of Idaho officials downplayed the significance of Al-Hussayen's access to a campus building containing radioactive material.
The engineering building houses the university's defunct nuclear engineering department, and its radioactive waste is kept "under lock and key awaiting disposal," said university spokeswoman Kathy Barnard.
But in the newly filed court documents, FBI agents say they were worried that the nuclear waste at the university lab could be used in a "dirty bomb."
Such devices involve the use of conventional explosives, such as dynamite, coupled with nuclear waste material to spread radioactive contamination.
The documents were drafted by federal prosecutors and made public last week in response to defense attorneys' challenges of the validity of FBI search warrants used in Moscow.
Al-Hussayen moved into the engineering lab while he was under surveillance by agents assigned to the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force, the documents disclose.
"The fact that Al-Hussayen moved his work station from a Computer Science Department laboratory to a facility for which he had unauthorized access and that houses radioactive isotopes was of immediate concern," Gnecknow said in an affidavit.
Surveillance teams determined Al-Hussayen primarily used the engineering isotope lab after hours. The documents say he obtained access to the engineering lab through the help of another Saudi national enrolled at the university.
Al-Hussayen "had little or no contact with individuals who might question his right to access that facility," Gnecknow said in the affidavit.
"This pattern of clandestine activity was of concern to terrorism task force members," he said.
The document also offers additional details surrounding Al-Hussayen's uncle, Saleh Al-Hussayen, who lives in Saudi Arabia.
He was visiting the United States, and checked into the same Herndon, Va., Marriott Inn on Sept. 10, 2001, as some of the 9-11 hijackers, including Nawaf Al-Hazmi. Al-Hazmi is suspected of piloting the hijacked American Airlines jet that crashed into the Pentagon.
After 9-11, Saleh Al-Hussayen "feigned a seizure" as he was being interviewed by two FBI agents from Washington, D.C., the documents say. Saleh Al-Hussayen subsequently returned to his native Saudi Arabia, out of the reach of FBI agents.
Saleh Al-Hussayen, like 15 of the 19 hijackers, is from Saudi Arabia, the documents say.
Sami Al-Hussayen's uncle also has ties to AL-WAQF, a foundation that promotes radical Islamic thought, including acts of violence against the West.
One of its "most famous graduates" is Mohammed Atta, the terrorist credited with planning and carrying out the 9-11 attacks.
The uncle's trip to the United States was sponsored by the Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).
The latter organization's office was raided in March 2002 and shut down for suspected money laundering for three known terrorist groups: Hamas, al Qaeda and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
A former employee of the IIIT, based in the United States, has been identified by federal agents as an alQaeda operative.
Bill Morlin can be reached at (509) 459-5444 or billm@spokesman.com
What's the govt waiting for? Someone to knock down the Twin Towers and attack the Pentagon.
Golly, that's odd. An Arab and a Saudi involved in terrorism?
A popular name in North-Idaho?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
SAUDI NATIONAL CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT TO HAMAS AND OTHER VIOLENT JIHADISTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft, Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Tom Moss of the District of Idaho announced today that Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, a graduate student from Saudi Arabia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to HAMAS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and to other violent jihadists.
A superseding indictment returned at U.S. District Court in Boise, Idaho this morning adds additional charges of providing and concealing material support to terrorists to the indictment already lodged against Al-Hussayen. Al-Hussayen had been previously indicted on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, seven counts of visa fraud and four counts of false statements. His trial is scheduled to begin on April 13, 2004.
“Terrorists increasingly use the internet to communicate their evil plans and to garner recruits, money and other material support for their violent activities,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “We will aggressively pursue and prosecute those who use their specialized computer skills to knowingly and intentionally support such terrorist conspiracies.”
The indictment cites two websites created and controlled by Al-Hussayen and others that included pages devoted to violent jihad - or holy war - in Israel. One of them, , included a section urging Muslims to contribute money to HAMAS to “assist their brothers in their honorable jihad against the dictatorial Zionist Jewish enemy.” Both sites also included links to the official HAMAS website where such donations could be made, according to the indictment.
Altogether, the indictment alleges that Al-Hussayen operated more than a dozen websites on behalf of: the Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA) in Detroit, Michigan; the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation; a Saudi-based company called Dar Al-Asr; and two radical Saudi sheikhs. It alleges that Al-Hussayen knew and intended that his computer services and expertise would be used to recruit and to raise funds for violent jihad in Israel, Chechnya and elsewhere and that he conspired to conceal the nature of his activities.
Among the specific allegations is the charge that Al-Hussayen moderated an e-mail group for people who wanted to participate in violent jihad. The group allegedly solicited “those who cannot physically engage in holy war,” and ultimately grew to more than 2,400 members. Its first posting came from Al-Hussayen on Feb. 2, 2000, according to the indictment. It allegedly was a “Cry and Call” to Muslims, exhorting them to “fight the idolator with your money, your selves, your tongues and your prayers.”
The indictment alleges that Al-Hussayen and others sent numerous postings to the group, including one in which he forwarded materials entitled “Virtues of Jihad,” glorifying those who die in holy war. Postings by others to the e-mail group included an “urgent appeal” to Muslims in the U.S. military asking them to identify potential U.S. targets in the Middle East.
According to the indictment, the various websites with which Al-Hussayen was involved published a variety of violent jihad materials, including graphic videos of mujahideen, or holy warriors, intended to recruit fighters and financial supporters of violent jihad. The indictment charges that several articles extolling the Chechen warriors and glorifying martyrdom were found on the server for IANA’s www.al-multaqa.com website and on the defendant’s home computer.
Al-Hussayen is also alleged to have received and disbursed out of his bank accounts more than $300,000 in excess of the study-related funds he received from his home government, much of which was paid to IANA for salaries, travel and other operational expenses.
The new charges allege that Al-Hussayen conspired with others to provide money and communications equipment to the Islamic Resistance Group, or HAMAS, which was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization on Oct. 8, 1997, and redesignated again in 1999, 2001 and 2003.
Al-Hussayen has been a graduate student at various universities in the United States for more than nine years. Most recently, he has been seeking a PhD in computer security from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.
The investigation, which is ongoing, is being conducted by the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force; the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Division and its offices in Couer d’Alene, Boise and Lewiston, Idaho; the FBI’s Seattle Field Division and its Spokane, Washington office; the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in Boise, Spokane; IRS offices in Boise and Spokane; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Spokane; the Secret Service, Spokane; the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Spokane; the Idaho State Police; the Washington State Patrol; the Moscow, Idaho, Police Department; the Spokane Police Department; the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office; the Spokane Criminal Intelligence United, the Latah County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Boise and Spokane; and the Counterterrorism Section of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
The prosecution team consists of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Lindquist of the District of Idaho; David Deitch, Department of Justice Counterterrorism Section; Todd Hinnen, DOJ Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section; and Terry Derden, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
04-137
http://www.klewtv.com/x5781.xml?ParentPageID=x5649&ContentID=x54158&Layout=KLEW.xsl&AdGroupID=x5781
June 10, 2004
"AL-HUSSAYEN NOT GUILTY"
(BOISE-AP)
===
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http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040610/NEWS01/40610004
"Juror: Government showed no evidence of Al-Hussayen's guilt"
Edition Date: 06-10-2004
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