http://www.fox8cleveland.com/dynamic/story.asp?category=140#3464
Islamic Leader Indicted on Charge of Citizenship Watch the I-Team exclusive that lead to today's arrest Tonight on Fox 8 News at 5 and 6.
(1/13/04) — A prominent Islamic clergyman has been indicted on a charge of concealing alleged assistance to groups that committed terrorist attacks against Jews when he applied for U.S. citizenship, the government announced Tuesday. Imam Fawaz Mohammed Damrah is accused of concealing from his citizenship application his membership or affiliation with several groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, U.S. Attorney Gregory White said. The indictment did not specify what type of support Damrah is accused of providing.
Damrah, 41, of suburban Strongsville, was charged with unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship in 1994 by providing false or fraudulent information on his citizenship application, White said. Damrah, who also uses the name Fawaz Damra, was arrested at his home about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday by members of the FBI joint terrorism task force. He was held to await an arraignment Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court before Judge James S. Gwin.
The other groups for which Damrah is accused of concealing an affiliation or membership were Afghan Refugees Services Inc., a division of the Kafah Refugee Center and also known as Al-Kifah Refugee Center and Alkifah Refugee Center Inc., and the Islamic Committee for Palestine, also known as Islamic Concern Project.
If convicted, Damrah cold face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. In addition, if convicted Damrah could have his citizenship revoked. Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been identified by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, White said. He said the indictment focused on false statements made in order for Damra to get his citizenship but did not allege any terrorist activities.
"We are strictly dealing with issues, activities and incidents prior to his becoming a naturalized citizen and what he was required to disclose prior to becoming a naturalized citizen in April 1994," White said. Damra, who was born in Palestine, has been a permanent resident in the United States since 1988, White said. Damra's past has been public knowledge for several years. White would not say why the indictment has been filed now.
"It's not something I can comment on. We had opened our case, investigated the matter and returned an indictment, so the record speaks for itself," White said.
Damrah, who leads Ohio's largest mosque, apologized in 2001 when a 10 year-old videotape surfaced showing him making anti-Semitic comments in a speech. Lay leaders of the Islamic Center of Cleveland accepted the apology and said he was forgiven. The videotape was released by immigration agents in 2002 in a deportation case in Florida involving another man. Damrah, apparently videotaped in Chicago in 1991, was shown calling for rifles to be directed at Jewish people, and referring to them as animals.
Damrah represented the Islamic community at interfaith gatherings in Cleveland after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. His mosque was rammed by a car six days after the attacks. The suspect was drunk and upset about the terrorist attacks, police said.
http://cleveland.fbi.gov/pressrel/2004/damar011304.htm U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Press Release
1501 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44144
1/13/2004
Gregory A. White, United States Attorney, Northern District of Ohio, Gerald L. Mack, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Northern District of Ohio, and Michael Hodzen, Interim Special Agent in Charge for Ohio Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced the arrest and the unsealing of a federal indictment charging Fawaz Mohammed Damrah, aka., Fawaz Damra, with unlawfully obtaining his U.S. citizenship through a false or fraudulent application, sworn to under oath, with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Damrah was arrested by members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force at approximately 8:30 am on 01/13/2004. The arrest, which was without incident, took place at Damrah's residence, 1012 Lake Meadows Drive, Strongsville, Ohio. Damrah became a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 29, 1994.
The indictment charges that Damrah, age 41, unlawfully obtained his U.S. citizenship by concealing material facts in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1425. The statutory penalty for a violation of Section 1425, as alleged in this indictment, is up to five (5) years in prison, $5,000 fine, and up to three (3) years of Supervised Release. The actual sentence in this case, upon conviction, will be determined by the Court under the mandatory Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant's prior criminal record, if any; the defendant's role in the offense; and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum. Additionally, in the event Damrah is convicted of concealing material facts in his application to become a naturalized U.S. citizen he could be stripped of his citizenship and deported.
Specifically, the indictment alleges Damrah concealed from INS his membership in and/or affiliation with: (1) Afghan Refugees Services Incorporated, a division of the Kafah Refugee Center, aka., Al-Kifah Refugee Center, aka., Alkifah Refugee Center Incorporated; (2) Palestinian Islamic Jihad, aka., the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine; and (3) Islamic Committee for Palestine, aka., Islamic Concern Project. The indictment further alleges Damrah concealed from INS the fact that he had, prior to his application for citizenship, "incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution" of Jews and others by advocating and/or supporting violent terrorists attacks against Jews and others. Finally, the indictment alleges Damrah concealed from INS the fact that he had been charged with assault arising out of an altercation at the JFK International Airport.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald B. Bakeman, James V. Moroney, and Cherie L. Krigsman, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Counterterrorism Section, following an investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Damrah's arraignment is scheduled for today, at 2:00 pm, before the Honorable James S. Gwin, U.S. District Court Judge, Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio.
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