Posted on 08/06/2003 9:06:02 PM PDT by TexKat
Maher 'Mike' Hawash holds his five-month-old daughter Sarra Hawash in their family home in Hillsboro, Ore., in this May 1998 family handout photo. Hawash, a software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003, to a charge of aiding the Taliban, agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. (AP Photo/Hawash Family)
Ore. Engineer Pleads to Terrorism Charge
By ANDREW KRAMER, Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. - A software engineer who unsuccessfully tried to enter Afghanistan to fight against U.S. troops pleaded guilty Wednesday to aiding the Taliban and agreed to testify against other suspects.
Maher "Mike" Hawash, one of the so-called "Portland Seven," will serve at least seven years in federal prison under a deal approved by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Hawash pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism.
"You and the others in the group were prepared to take up arms, and die as martyrs if necessary, to defend the Taliban. Is this true?" U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones asked Hawash during the hearing.
"Yes, your honor," Hawash replied.
Hawash's attorney, Steven Houze, said his client had decided to cooperate fully with the government. Houze said Hawash had faced more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all three counts.
Hawash admitted buying camping supplies and other gear as part of a plan to join the Taliban as a foot soldier. He said he tried and failed to enter Afghanistan from western China in late fall 2001.
Hawash also admitted he gave money to other members of the group that had been provided by another, unnamed, individual.
In exchange for the reduced sentence, Hawash agreed to testify in federal court, before grand juries and before any potential military tribunals. He also agreed, if called upon, to cooperate with foreign governments to aid in their terrorism probes and to assist intelligence agencies.
He will be sentenced after he testifies against his former co-defendants, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
In March, federal agents seized Hawash, 38, from a parking lot outside Intel Corp., where he worked, and simultaneously searched his home. He was held as a material witness until charges were filed five weeks later. In what supporters called an abuse of civil rights, federal officials did not publicly confirm he was being held during those five weeks.
In a 41-page affidavit, the U.S. Attorney's Office accused Hawash, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent, of growing angry with the United States after the Sept. 11. 2001, attacks, then conspiring with co-defendants to join the fight in Afghanistan against U.S. troops.
Hawash accompanied the group as it tried and failed to enter Afghanistan, according to court documents. The Taliban was the militant Muslim organization that controlled most of Afghanistan until the American invasion following the terrorist attacks.
Five of the other six suspects in the case all have pleaded innocent — Jeffrey Battle; Battle's ex-wife, October Lewis; Patrice Lumumba Ford and brothers Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal. The sixth, Habis al Saoub, remains at large. They face various conspiracy, firearms and money laundering charges.
I would bet he would never be able to have a fine Sunday picnic in Afghanistan or Palestine without worrying about bombs or terrorist attacking.
here in America, we have basically clean water to drink, healthy food to eat, good housing for the most part..education for all....
we live in a relatively peaceful and accepting nation .,...a nation of basically good people...
it was a blessing for him to be here with his family and he has thrown all that away....
By the way- Hawash certainly DIDN'T look like the sweet family man when he was picked up. He looked like a typical Taliban wackjob very much on the "fringe." He was anything but clean cut and clean shaven.
Have you heard some of the RATs actually say that if the illegals have families they're not hurting anyone. Why deport them? They should be allowed to stay. They're not terrorist. They're just here to work for their families...barf
Not going to happen. He's an Intel engineer, he has a lot of big supporters. So they're going to let him slide, but with his testimony they will have an easier time nailing the others in his ring. And when his friends see him testify against his Taliban buddies, they will hopefully abandon him.
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