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Judge ponders bail in BuffaloSets date of October 3 to announce decision
From Susan Candiotti (CNN)
BUFFALO, New York (CNN) -- A federal judge said Friday he will decide within two weeks whether to allow bail for six men accused of providing material support to al Qaeda. Following three days of hearings, Magistrate Kenneth Schroeder said he would reach his decision by October 3. Each side must submit written briefs on the bond issue by next Friday. The government has argued the men should be held without bond because they are too dangerous and might flee, while the defense has said their clients pose no risk and that the government has not shown enough evidence that the men provided support to al Qaeda. During Friday's session, Schroeder asked pointed questions of both the government and defense, which at times appeared to make both sides uncomfortable. Some of his toughest comments were directed at the prosecution. "I haven't heard anything that they've done anything that could indicate they intend to commit harm," Schroeder said. At one point, when prosecutor William Hochul questioned why the six suspects didn't come to authorities about their training in Afghanistan, Schroeder asked: "Can you point to a statute that requires people to say 'I've seen people talk crazy'?" At another point, the judge asked, "Is the government taking the position that by listening to a speech by Osama bin Laden, is that person as evil as Osama bin Laden?" "Judge, I'm not going to go there," Hochul responded. The six men -- Sahim Alwan, 29; Shafal Mosed, 24; Yasein Taher, 24; Mukhtar al-Bakri, 22; Yahya Goba, 25, and Faysal Galab, 26 -- are charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. All six are U.S. citizens of Yemeni heritage. Two other suspects -- Kamal Derwish and Jaber Elbaneh -- are still at large. Some officials say they could be in Yemen. On Thursday, an attorney for Alwan read a statement in court acknowledging he went to an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. According to the attorney, Alwan said he faked an ankle injury in order to leave and in a statement to the FBI added that people at the camp appeared to have "a crazy, radical mentality" and "I decided to leave." Rebuttal: 'Conspiracy of silence'In Friday's rebuttal, prosecutors argued the men failed to tell the FBI over the course of several months that they had been to Afghanistan. "There was almost a conspiracy of silence," said Hochul. Hochul argued the men misled the FBI during interviews over the past few months, interviews in which the men were contacted and voluntarily spoke with agents. Hochul said the men initially told authorities they had only gone for religious training to Pakistan. The judge responded by saying the men had the right to remain silent. "I haven't heard anything about Miranda rights," Schroeder said. On the other hand, the judge said of the training the men received: "A little bit of knowledge can be dangerous." Some of the defendants' lawyers said the men were "too terrified" to tell the FBI where they had been, including hearing speeches from bin Laden. "Each of our clients denies he was ever a member of al Qaeda or is now a member of al Qaeda or has any intention of being a member of al Qaeda," Alwan's defense attorney James Harrington told the court.
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