Posted on 08/13/2003 3:27:44 PM PDT by chance33_98
Prosecutors: Kariye may have financed 'Portland Seven'
PORTLAND - Federal prosecutors say Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, the religious leader of the state's largest mosque, may have provided money and support to a group of Portland men accused of trying to fight U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. In court papers filed Tuesday, the prosecutors said Kariye is a target in the ongoing investigation. "The government possesses direct evidence of Kariye's involvement in the conspiracy," prosecutors said.
Kariye has not been charged in the case.
Prosecutors disclosed their investigation of Kariye as they sought a hearing on whether Kariye's lawyer had a conflict of interest in defending Patrice Lumumba Ford, one of the men charged in the Portland case. They backed up their filing with a secret affidavit from an FBI agent to the federal judge overseeing the case.
Kariye is the imam of the Islamic Center of Portland. He made national headlines in September 2002 when he was arrested at Portland International Airport as he was about to board a plane for the Middle East with his family. Investigators wrongly concluded his luggage contained traces of explosives, and he was charged at the time with Social Security fraud.
He pleaded guilty in March to Social Security and government health insurance fraud in a deal arranged by Stanley Cohen, his lawyer. He was sentenced to five years probation. Prosecutors said Cohen would have a conflict of interest if he became Ford's lawyer because Kariye may be charged in the case.
Federal prosecutors said one taped conversation between an informant and one defendant "indicates that Abdirahman Kariye may have helped with the provision of financial support." The prosecutors said additional evidence showed Kariye "may have supported the group in other ways" that were explained in the sealed FBI affidavit.
"This is the first time I heard of these things," Kariye said in a brief phone interview with The Oregonian.
The case started in October when six people were indicted for planning to help the Taliban and al-Qaida battle U.S. forces in Afghanistan. A seventh defendant - Maher "Mike" Hawash - was added earlier this year. The six men and one woman all attended the Portland mosque.
Prosecutors say the group trained in the Portland area in 2001 before six men headed overseas in October 2001, en route to Afghanistan via China. The group never made it beyond China, abandoning their mission because they couldn't get the necessary visas. The woman stayed behind to provide money and communications, according to the indictment.
Last week, Hawash pleaded guilty and admitted he and his friends were prepared to die as martyrs in the fight against U.S. forces. Hawash is cooperating with investigators and is expected to testify if the case goes to trial in January.
Five defendants have pleaded innocent. One is a fugitive.
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