Jehadi website ping: (let me know if you want on or off)
Abu Hamza's former webmaster -- met with Ayman al-Zawahiri:
"It gives you an idea of the circles in which Ujaama found himself," noted one federal law-enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It would be like you or me getting a bellyache and having the U.S. surgeon general show up at the door."
A little background.
When Ujaama was first arrested he denied ever having direct contact with Abu Hamza. His lawyer and other defenders had claimed that there was no direct connection between him and al Qaida. A terrorist Islamist is allowed to lie as part of their religion -- it's called
Al-Takeyya -- however no one is allowed to lie to Federal prosecutors. Then this video appeared, courtesy of
Johnathangaltfilms with Ujaama speaking in defence of Osama and Jamil al Amin (H. Rap Brown) and stating that he had fought in Afghanistan.
As part of the plea agreement, Ujaama has given a lot of inside information about Hamza's operation to Federal authorities. "Security concerns" prohibit the government from telling the court the "full nature and scope of Ujaama's cooperation."
THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS AN EXACT QUOTE:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/February/04_crm_086.htm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
EARNEST JAMES UJAAMA SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRING
TO SUPPLY GOODS AND SERVICES TO THE TALIBAN
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft, Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney John McKay of the Western District of Washington announced today that Earnest James Ujaama was sentenced to two years in prison, following his conviction on a charge of conspiring to provide goods and services to the Taliban, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Ujaama entered a guilty plea to the charge on April 14, 2003.
Ujaama, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein, at federal court in Seattle. In addition to the two-year prison term, Ujaama will be placed on supervised release for a period of three years. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Ujaama has been cooperating fully with the government in ongoing terrorism investigations.
“As part of our war on terror, the cooperation of insiders with direct knowledge of the activities of dangerous terrorists could help us save innocent American lives,” said Attorney General Ashcroft. “Earnest James Ujaama pled guilty and accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct, agreeing to cooperate fully with our fight to disrupt future terrorist activity and apprehend other terrorists who threaten our safety and security. Our highest priority is to disrupt the networks of terror, and the information gained from individuals like Ujaama helps us protect innocent Americans from terrorist attacks.”
The Ujaama investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew R. Hamilton and Todd Greenberg, and Trial Attorney George Z. Toscas of the Criminal Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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04-086