FBI says Idaho graduate student tried gaining access to lab with radioactive material

WorldNetDaily.com: "SAUDI STUDENT INDICTED FOR TERROR From Idaho School Set Up Website to Recruit Holy Warriors" (January 10, 2004) (Read More...)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/156371_idahoterror13.html

"Idaho student denies terror charge
Saudi held nearly a year over visa fraud allegation pleads not guilty"

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "BOISE, Idaho -- A University of Idaho graduate student held for nearly a year on visa fraud charges pleaded not guilty yesterday to the additional charge of supporting terrorism.

Sami Omar Al-Hussayen appeared only briefly before U.S. Magistrate Mikel Williams. Williams postponed Al-Hussayen's trial date from Jan. 20 to Feb. 17."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1057404/posts

"Charges laid over jihad web site Was based in Montreal"
National Post ^ | Tuesday, January 13, 2004 | Stewart Bell

Posted on 01/13/2004 6:58:13 PM PST by Calpernia

To: JohnathanRGalt; piasa; backhoe; Jeff Head; tubavil; PrivateIdaho; All

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2004/01/000718print.html

"US wants major Islamic charity group to be branded terrorist"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Several Islamic charities in the U.S. have already been closed for terrorist links. Charities collect obligatory zakat donations from Muslims, which are then distributed to radical groups -- apparently unbeknownst to many of the donors. Now the Saudis, anxious to improve their anti-terror credentials, have joined the U.S. to go after another. This from the Hindustan Times, with thanks to Jean-Luc.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have jointly appealed the United Nations to declare a major charity group, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation's branches in Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania and Indonesia as terrorist organisations.

US Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, top State Deprtment officials including Counterterrorism Coordinator Cofer Black, and Adel Jubeir, Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah held a joint press conference yesterday at the US Treasury to make the appeal to UN.

US Officials said these four countries have resisted action, though it has been tarred as terrorist in both in the US and Saudi Arabia for some time, "in part out of fear of appearing to do the bidding of the United States."'

"We are working closely with our Saudi friends. I have personally seen great improvement in the cooperation," Black said.

Al-Haramain figured prominently in the indictment earlier this month of Sami Omar Hussayen, a University of Idaho doctoral student in computer science, on charges of conspiracy to promote material support to terrorists. It raises millions of dollars for its charities every year. The charge is that though it has genuine charities, Al-Haaramain also funds terrorism."

Posted on 01/25/2004 4:28:12 PM PST by Cindy

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1081854/posts

"Saudi America"
FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | 2/20/04 | Joel Mowbray

Posted on 02/20/2004 2:03:17 AM PST by kattracks

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Still at large, though, is Saudi national Abdullah Aljughaiman, who was a lecturer at UI and received his religious training King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Investigators have been unable even to speak with him, however, because he is most likely in Saudi Arabia, where he’s off-limits to U.S. authorities.

At the center of the probe is Sami Omar al-Hussayen, a graduate student and computer whiz at UI who was also seen as a leader in the local Muslim community. The Saudi national, who goes to trial this spring, is charged with visa fraud, making false statements, and providing material support of terrorism.

The terrorism charge does not seem to have adversely affected al-Hussayen’s popularity in the local Muslim community. Several Muslims in the Pullman-Moscow area contacted by phone spoke favorably of the alleged abettor of terrorism. One who had attended the preliminary hearings opined, “The evidence against him doesn’t seem that strong.”

In addition to allegedly designing web sites for two radical sheikhs with direct contact with Osama bin Laden, al-Hussayen is charged with handling financial and administrative functions for supposed charities that allegedly supported terrorism.

The most chilling part of the indictment, though, is a section describing an e-mail list managed and edited solely by al-Hussayen, in which an appeal was made for information from Muslims in the U.S. armed forces that would help in a terrorist attack on American military personnel:"

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GOOGLE Search Term: "Aljughaiman"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Aljughaiman%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=0

At least campuses are gun-free defenselessness zones, for all except terrorists.

Mein Koran commands devout muslims to kill us. Their Haddith tells them how. Some holy scriptures.

Thanks for the update.

In the good news department, it looks like a major terrorist hangout here is abandoned. I haven't seen any activity for a couple weeks.

Hah! Maybe they were brewing a batch of nerve agent in the 'mosque' upstairs and met their virgins early. One can hope.

THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS AN EXACT QUOTE:
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http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/March/04_crm_137.htm

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

FYI.

bttt

Note: The whole article is interesting.

“Hardball Tactics In An Era Of Threats”
Ross E. Getman, Esq. - 8/17/2007

http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=3278&cid=1&sid=107

SNIPPET - QUOTE:

At the same time the FBI was searching the townhouse of PhD candidate Ali Timimi, searches and arrests moved forward elsewhere. In Moscow, Idaho, FBI agents interviewed Nabil Albaloushi. (They apparently searched his apartment at the same time they searched the apartment of IANA webmaster Sami al-Hussayen, who they had woken from bed at 4:00 a.m.) Albaloushi was a PhD candidate expert in drying foodstuffs. His thesis in 2003 was 350 pages filled with charts of drying coefficients.

Interceptions showed a very close link between IANA’s Sami al-Hussayen and Sheikh al-Hawali, to include the setting up of web sites, the providing of vehicles for extended communication, and telephone contact with intermediaries of Sheikh al-Hawali. Al-Hussayen had al-Hawali’s phone number upon the search of his belongings upon his arrest. Former Washington State University animal geneticist and nutrition researcher Ismail Diab, who had moved to Syracuse to work for an IANA-spin-off, also was charged in Syracuse and released as a material witness to a financial investigation of the IANA affiliate “Help The Needy.” After the government failed to ask Dr. Diab any questions for nearly 3 months, the magistrate bail restrictions and removed the electronic monitoring and curfew requirements.

In Moscow, Idaho, the activities by IANA webmaster Sami al-Hussayen that drew scrutiny involved these same two radical sheiks. U.S. officials say the two sheiks influenced al Qaeda’s belief that Muslims should wage holy war against the U.S. until it ceases to support Israel and withdraws from the Middle East. Sami Hussayen, who was acquitted, made numerous calls and wrote many e-mails to the two clerics, sometimes giving advice to them about running Arabic-language Web sites on which they espoused their anti-Western views.