(NY) Mosque members face new charges
Times Union ^ | September 30, 2005 | Brendan Lyons
ALBANY -- A federal grand jury charged two members of an Albany mosque Thursday with new terrorism-related counts, including allegations that the mosque's spiritual leader has ties to key figures in overseas terrorist organizations.
The superseding indictment delves deeply into the background of Iraqi-born Yassin M. Aref, 35, a Kurdish refugee who is the imam at a Central Avenue mosque that has been in the cross hairs of the FBI since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The FBI now claims that entries in Aref's personal journals, which were seized 13 months ago during a series of raids across Albany, link him to Mullah Krekar, founder of Ansar al-Islam, a violent terrorist group that U.S. authorities contend has ties to al-Qaida and has been responsible for much of the attacks on coalition forces.
Aref, and his friend, Mohammed M. Hossain, 50, a pizza shop owner, were each freed on $250,000 bond several days after their arrests in August 2004. They were charged in a 19-count felony indictment with taking part in a scheme to make money from the sale of grenade launchers to terrorists.
There was never any real terrorist plot. Rather, Aref and Hossain were drawn into a sting operation with the assistance of a Pakistani immigrant who has served as an FBI informant.
At a detention hearing a year ago, defense attorneys convinced a federal judge to release Aref and Hossain on bond after the government disclosed they had made a mistake in their translation of a notebook found in a bombed-out Iraqi encampment in Rahwah that was believed to be occupied by terrorists. The U.S. attorney's office acknowledged the document referred to Aref as "brother," not "commander," but the mistake led a federal magistrate to reverse his decision to keep the men jailed without bond while their cases are pending.
At the time, authorities said the mistake did not undermine their allegation of terrorist connections in the case.
In a memorandum filed late Thursday by federal prosecutors, they painstakingly outline Aref's monitored phone calls, taped speeches and journal entries -- all seized by authorities -- which they contend firmly tie Aref to terrorist figures and organizations across the Middle East and in Iraq, including Ansar al-Islam and Hamas.
Aref's 1999 journals show a series of contacts with Krekar, including meetings that took place shortly before Aref came to the United States with his family that year as a refugee.
Additional charges filed against Aref include allegations that he lied to FBI agents about his knowledge of the foreign terrorist organizations and that he also lied on resident applications about having any connections to foreign political groups. The FBI contends Aref was an active member of a political group, the Islamic Movement in Kurdistan (IMK), which authorities contend may have connections to terrorism.
"Aref kept his IMK affiliation hidden and secret, specifically omitting any reference to the IMK in his 1999 refugee application," according to the memorandum. Aref allegedly lied again in 2002 "when he applied to adjust his status from refugee to permanent resident."
The phone calls, journal entries and alleged connections to terrorist figures "brings the matter full circle to the Rawah notebook," the government's memorandum said. "Aref has had contacts with terrorists and discussions about terrorist acts. ... The foregoing facts demonstrate dangerousness."
To bolster their claims, federal authorities include 17 pages of entries in 1999 from Aref's personal journal which they contend demonstrate his ties to overseas terrorist organizations. Authorities also contend Aref was aligned with Dr. Rafil Dhafir of Syracuse, 56, an oncologist who was found guilty earlier this year of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions by sending money to Iraq through an illegal charity.
Federal authorities have alleged Dhafir posed a national security threat through his connections to terrorist organizations, although he was never charged with any terrorism-related crimes.
Aref and Hossain are scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges today in U.S. District Court in Albany. The hearing will take place before U.S. Magistrate Judge David R. Homer, who initially sent the men to jail last year without bond. He later changed his ruling and released them on bond after federal authorities acknowledged their translation error regarding the Iraqi notebook that contained Aref's name.
Today, Homer will again decide whether Aref and Hossain pose a danger to the community or a risk of flight. Both men have been under house arrest for the past year, required to wear electronic monitoring bracelets and only allowed to go to their mosque and to work.
A 48-page memorandum filed by federal prosecutors urges Aref and Hossain to be jailed without bond while their cases are pending.
The memorandum also includes reference to an incendiary poem, allegedly written by Aref, in which he wrote on Dec. 3, 1999: "Raise the Jihad sword ... Raise the Koran with blood ... So we can bring back the freedom for ourselves and the entire people of this Earth."
Hossain's attorney, Kevin Luibrand and Aref's attorney, Terence L. Kindlon, both declined comment on the new charges. But Kindlon said the men should remain free on bond.
"Since Aref has been walking around for 13 months, there's never been any question of his whereabouts or his willingness to participate in the process," Kindlon said.
Over the last year, FBI agents have crisscrossed the globe interviewing former acquaintances of Aref and Hossain in an effort to explore the men's backgrounds and bolster their charges. The FBI also has used aerial and satellite surveillance to keep tabs on members of Aref's family, according to information obtained by the Times Union.
When the raids took place last year, authorities seized dozens of videotapes, audiotapes, journals and a copy of a terrorist publication by another terrorist militant group, Islamic Movement in Kurdistan, which they contend Aref supports.
It also became clear that the Central Avenue mosque had been under surveillance by the FBI for at least a year before the pre-dawn raids unfolded on Aug. 5, 2004.
The yearlong FBI sting began in July 2003 when an undercover informant allegedly convinced Aref and Hossain to take part in a money-laundering scheme. The informant, a Loudonville resident and Pakistani immigrant, lured Hossain into the deal. Aref was enlisted to witness their transactions, according to court records.
The case has moved slowly because prosecutors said they are dealing with volumes of classified materials, which they have not publicly described, that may be offered as evidence in the case. The government has invoked the Classified Information Procedures Act, which enables them to file records in the case under seal.
The new charges against both men include one count of conspiring to provide material support to Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic extremist group based in Pakistan. There are also eight new counts charging the men with attempting to provide material support to Jaish-e-Mohammed, which the U.S. Department of State has declared a terrorist organization.
If convicted on all counts, both men face more than 400 years in prison. |
