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Prosecutors, defense spar over men accused of being in 'sleeper cell'
From Susan Candiotti
BUFFALO, New York (CNN) -- Prosecutors and defense attorneys filed written briefs Friday in the case of six men suspected of being part of an al Qaeda-trained sleeper cell. A federal magistrate is expected to rule next Thursday whether the men should be released on bail pending trial. In their briefs, federal prosecutors accused the six men of being potential terrorists, while defense attorneys countered that they were a group of harmless young men who traveled abroad for religious instruction and became tangled in an unforeseen web of circumstances "Their material support to the al Qaeda terrorist organization is not only a crime of violence ... it also makes them a threat to the safety of the community, warranting their continued detention," prosecutors wrote in their brief. Defense attorneys countered that the government has offered "no evidence tending to show that any of the defendants either joined al Qaeda or engaged in any conduct, much less combat, to further the goals of al Qaeda." The six men -- Sahim Alwan, 29; Mukhtar al-Bakri, 22; Shafal Mosed; 24; Yasein Taher, 24; Yahya Goba, 25; and Faysal Galab, 26 -- are charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization in violation of a 1996 anti-terrorism law. All are U.S. citizens of Yemeni heritage who lived in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna. Two other men wanted in the case are still at large. Prosecutors allege that in mid-2001, the men traveled in two groups to the Al-Farooq camp, operated by al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where they received training in the use of weapons and explosives, were given code names and also heard an address by Osama bin Laden in which he made anti-American and anti-Israeli comments. In a court affidavit filed Friday -- to bolster the government's argument that the six men shouldn't be given bail because they are dangerous and likely to flee -- Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hochul brought several new allegations to the court's attention: -- Mosed has used multiple names and at least two different Social Security numbers, and a search of his home turned up a stun gun. When he was arrested, he had 11 credit cards in six different names. -- Translations of cassette tapes found in Goba's home contain references to "jihad" being a duty, as well as verses from the Qur'an frequently quoted by radical Muslim clerics to justify terrorist attacks. -- A search of Alwan's home turned up "multiple cassette tapes of a militant nature," including a recorded lecture by Sheik Safar Al-Hawali, a radical Saudi cleric associated with a group with which bin Laden was once affiliated. -- A search this week at a residence in Hamburg, New York, used by Taher turned up a multi-page document defending the use of suicide attacks, which are referred to as "martyrdom operations." Hochul also noted that the United States has no extradition treaty with Yemen, should the men be released on bail and flee there. But defense attorneys counter that the government has failed to prove -- by "clear and convincing evidence," as required under federal law -- that the men have a history of violence or might try to flee. The defendants have no serious criminal records, strong ties to the Lackawanna community and can put up substantial amounts of bail, their attorneys said. They have also agreed to submit to electronic monitoring if released. Mosed's attorney, Patrick Brown, argued that his "mere attendance at the camp without anything more does nothing to show that he presents a danger to the community." Taher's attorney, Rodney Personius, argued that rather than presenting evidence his client was dangerous, the government was instead "relying upon invectives that draw upon the unquestioned villainy of Osama bin Laden," as well as concerns about national security arising from the September 11 terrorist attacks. Another key question debated in the briefs is whether merely attending a training camp run by al Qaeda, in the absence of any evidence that terrorist attacks were subsequently planned, violates the 1996 law. Prosecutors say yes; defense attorneys say no. Prosecutors "have not alleged any defendant provided anything, whether personnel or training to al Qaeda," the defense attorneys said. "Instead, the government's proffer alleges, at most, that the defendants received training and/or instruction." But the government contends that by receiving training from al Qaeda, the men provided "personnel" to the group, which does violate the law. The government's case is based largely on statements that Alwan and al-Bakri gave to the FBI, in which they allegedly admitted that they had traveled to the al Qaeda camp and said the other four men had gone there as well. But attorneys for those four have refused to concede that point, questioning the credibility of Alwan and al-Bakri and calling their statements "inconsistent" and "unreliable." They say their clients went to Pakistan for religious training, not to become a terrorist sleeper cell. "The government's evidence on this point consists solely of statement made by co-defendants in this case -- co-defendants that the government characterize as 'purposefully misleading' and lying to FBI agents," said Marianne Mariano, Goba's attorney, in her brief. "Such evidence is highly untrustworthy and should not be relied upon by the court." Defense attorneys for Alwan and al-Bakri, while conceding that their clients went to Afghanistan, have said they were not away being taken to a terrorist training camp until they arrived and do not in any way support al Qaeda. Alwan told the FBI that he tried to leave the camp shortly after his arrival but was refused. He was finally allowed to leave after 10 days when he faked an injury, his attorney, James Harrington, said.
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