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Judge orders 5 terror cell suspects held without bailVirtual house arrest imposed on 6th suspect
BUFFALO, New York (CNN) -- A federal judge Tuesday ordered five men -- all U.S. citizens -- to be held without bond on charges of being part of an al Qaeda terrorist training cell in Buffalo, saying that releasing them could not "reasonably assure the safety of the community." Bond for a sixth man charged in the case was set at $600,000, and federal Magistrate Kenneth Schroeder imposed extraordinary conditions on his movements, confining him to virtual house arrest. That defendant, Sahim Alwan, 29, cannot be released until after all conditions have been met and put in place, a process that is likely to take at least a week. A preliminary hearing was set for October 22. Prosecutors argued the six Americans, all Muslims in their 20s, are potential terrorists plotting to inflict chaos with their al Qaeda training, while defense attorneys said they are harmless young men who traveled abroad for religious instruction. The judge also ruled on a key legal question: Schroeder found that merely attending a terrorist training camp does constitute providing material support for terrorists. In making that ruling, he cited from the case of John Walker Lindh, the young American captured in Afghanistan who has pleaded guilty to supplying services to the Taliban. Schroeder ruled that the five men should be held without bond because each defendant "has not come forward to offset the government's claims of danger to community and risk of flight." "I find that there are no conditions or combination of conditions that I could impose that would reasonably assure the safety of the community and the appearances of the defendants when required," Schroeder said in a 75-minute hearing in which he read his 35-page decision word for word. "If the defendants are or have become disciples of al Qaeda and believers in self-destruction as a legitimate means of causing harm to others, there are no conditions that could be imposed that would deter such act of self-destruction, other than detention." For Alwan, the judge said he must post $600,000 bond or ante up property of equal value, while also being confined to what amounts to house arrest, with the only exceptions being going to work, visiting the doctor or meeting with his attorney. Conditions include that Alwan must surrender his passport, that he cannot leave Erie County and that he cannot use a cell phone, e-mail, fax or pager. He will be monitored electronically, with a global positioning system tracking his movements. The one phone line he is allowed to use will be wiretapped. He will have a second line that will not be wiretapped for conversations with his attorneys. He must pay for the phone services and for his monitoring surveillance. If Alwan works, then he must take a specific route to and from his job that will be pre-set with his probationary officer. Alwan's attorney had conceded that his client went to Afghanistan, but said he was not aware he was being taken to an al Qaeda camp until he arrived. Alwan told the FBI that he tried to leave the Al Farooq camp shortly after his arrival but was refused. He was finally allowed to leave after 10 days when he faked an injury, according to his attorney. Of Alwan, the judge Tuesday said, "I find that he has come forward with sufficient evidence to offset the government's claim of dangerousness and risk of flight." Schroeder said Alwan "apparently disavowed or disclaimed any continued participation in the activities of al Qaeda when he managed to extricate himself from the al Farooq training camp and returned home" to the Buffalo area. After the hearing, Alwan's attorney, James Harrington, said it will take at least a week to comply with the terms of the bond. He said he does not fear for his client's safety if he is released. The six defendants did not say anything during Tuesday's hearing. Two of the men were shackled wearing prison jumpsuits, while four were unshackled in casual clothes. Members of their families who crowded the courtroom cried when they learned that their loved ones would not be freed. Schroeder, who had labored for days over whether to release the men, cautioned against "paranoia" and "blindness" in enforcing the nation's principles. "If we truly believe in the principles espoused in this nation's Declaration of Independence and the United States' Constitution, we must give more than lip service to those principles," the judge said in a preamble to his decision. "We must never adopt an 'end-justify-the-means' philosophy claiming that our constitutional and democratic principles must be temporarily furloughed or put on hold in cases involving alleged terrorism in order to preserve democracy. To do so would result in victory for the terrorists." In addition to Alwan, the men are identified as Mukhtar al-Bakri, 22; Shafal Mosed; 24; Yasein Taher, 24; Yahya Goba, 25; and Faysal Galab, 26. Each is 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.
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