Man Pleads Guilty to Providing Material Support to Hizballah TV Station

NEW YORK - Lev L. Dassin, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Saleh Elahwal, 55, of Matawan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to providing material support to Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to the count (Count Two) of the Superseding Indictment to which Elahwal pleaded guilty, and statements made during his guilty plea proceeding before United States District Judge Richard M. Berman:

Hizballah ("Party of God") is a Lebanon-based organization whose stated mission is the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state and the destruction of the State of Israel. Hizballah regards the United States as its enemy in this struggle and has pursued its mission through, among other things, attacks on civilian targets. Hizballah operates a television station in Lebanon known as Al Manar ("the beacon") to cultivate support, including raising funds and recruiting volunteers for attacks. Hizballah was designated on October 8, 1997, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. On October 31, 2001, Hizballah was further designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and Al Manar itself was so designated on March 23, 2006.

In pleading guilty, Elahwal admitted that between approximately September 2005 and August 2006, he knowingly provided satellite transmission services to Al Manar, for which he was paid thousands of dollars. Elahwal admitted that he knew that Al Manar was operated by Hizballah and that Hizballah had engaged in acts of terrorism as defined by federal law.

Elahwal pleaded guilty to a charge of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for February 19, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge BERMAN in Manhattan federal court.

On December 23, 2008, Elahwal’s co-defendant, Javed Iqbal, also pleaded guilty to providing material support to Hizballah. His sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2009, at 12:45 p.m. before Judge Berman.

Mr. Dassin praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force in conducting the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Snyder and David S. Leibowitz are in charge of the prosecution.

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STATEN ISLAND SATELLITE TV OPERATOR PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO HIZBALLAH...
FBI.GOV ^ | December 23, 2008 | n/a
Posted on December 23, 2008 10:49:10 PM PST by Cindy

December 23, 2008

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/nyfo122308a.htm

“STATEN ISLAND SATELLITE TV OPERATOR PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO HIZBALLAH TV STATION”

SNIPPET: “LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAVED IQBAL, a/k/a “John Iqbal,” 45, of Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to providing material support to Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

June 23, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/nyfo062309.htm

New Jersey Man Sentenced to 17 Months in Prison for Providing Material Support and Resources to Hizballah

LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SALEH ELAHWAL, 56, of Matawan, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 17 months in prison for providing material support to Hizballah, a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The sentence was imposed in Manhattan federal court by United States District Judge RICHARD M. BERMAN, before whom ELAHWAL previously pleaded guilty. According to the criminal Complaint, Count Two of the Superseding Indictment, to which ELAHWAL pleaded guilty, and statements made during proceedings in Manhattan federal court:

Hizballah (”Party of God”) is an organization based in Lebanon whose stated mission is the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state and the destruction of the State of Israel. Hizballah regards the United States as its enemy in this struggle. Since its inception in approximately 1982, Hizballah has pursued its mission through, among other things, attacks on civilian targets. Hizballah has been designated by the Secretary of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Al-Manar (”the Beacon”) is a Lebanon-based television station operated by Hizballah and designed to cultivate support for Hizballah’s activities and mission. Al-Manar has been named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since March 2006.

From approximately 2005 through 2006, ELAHWAL, through a Brooklyn and Staten Island-based satellite transmission company he helped operate, HDTV Limited, provided satellite transmission services to al-Manar, in exchange for thousands of dollars in payments from al-Manar. ELAHWAL provided these services knowing that al-Manar is Hizballah’s television station.

In addition to the prison term, Judge BERMAN ordered ELAHWAL to pay a fine of $7500, serve 200 hours of community service, and 3 years of supervised release.

In April 2009, co-defendant JAVED IQBAL, who also pleaded guilty to providing material support to Hizballah, was sentenced to 69 months in prison.

Mr. DASSIN praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorist Task Force in conducting the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys ERIC SNYDER and DAVID LEIBOWITZ are in charge of the prosecution.

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