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Qatari man charged with lying to FBI
From Phil Hirschkorn
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A former college student from Qatar, in federal custody for more than a year, was charged Monday with making false statements to banks and to FBI agents investigating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, 37, appeared before a federal magistrate to hear a six-count criminal complaint charging him in part with denying he called a telephone number in the United Arab Emirates associated with a financier of the September 11 hijackers. The judge set January 23 as a possible date for a preliminary hearing in the complaint filed by James Comey, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Al-Marri also is accused of lying about his entry dates into the United States, lying in bank account applications for a fictitious carpet business, and using a stolen Social Security number to fill out the applications at three banks in Macomb, Illinois. FBI agents first questioned Al-Marri -- a 1991 graduate of Bradley University who enrolled last year as a graduate student at the school in computer science -- in his Peoria, Illinois, apartment three weeks after the terrorist attacks. He was detained as a material witness on December 12, 2001. The complaint says agents discovered Al-Marri had telephoned the UAE number used by Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, also known as Mustafa Ahmed, a paymaster for the attacks who is believed to have channeled money to and from lead hijacker Mohamed Atta and cohort Marwan Al-Shehhi. Atta piloted American Airlines Flight 11 into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Al-Shehhi piloted United Airlines Flight 175 into the south tower. Al-Hawsawi is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the government's case against Zacarias Moussaoui, whose trial on conspiracy charges in the September 11 attacks is scheduled for June. The UAE phone number was listed on the receipt for a Federal Express package sent by Atta from Florida, according to the complaint. The number also was used as a point of contact for a September 3, 2001, wire transfer to Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a member of al Qaeda's Hamburg, Germany, cell who also sent money to hijackers. Bin al-Shibh has been in U.S. custody since his capture in Pakistan three months ago. An affidavit by FBI agent Nicholas Zambeck says that Al-Marri tried on at least three occasions last year -- between September 23 and November 7 -- to call the UAE number using a calling card. "Al-Marri denied knowing anyone named Mustafa al-Hawsawi and denied ever calling the UAE telephone number or anyone associated with that telephone number," Zambeck says in the affidavit. Searching Al-Marri's laptop computer, FBI agents found audio lectures by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden about "jihad" and "martyrdom" and an Arabic prayer asking God to "protect" and "guard" bin Laden, the complaint says. The agents said the computer also contained photos of the September 11 attacks and bookmarked Web sites about the ousted Taliban regime of Afghanistan and on hazardous chemicals, according to the complaint. An almanac in Al-Marri's home marked pages with information about U.S. dams, railroads, waterways and railroads, the complaint says. "We all may have a view of that kind of material. It is not illegal to be in possession of speeches somebody makes," said Al-Marri's defense attorney, Richard Jasper. Al-Marri allegedly opened the bank accounts in the summer of 2000 under the name of Abdullakareem Almuslam with an address that belonged to a motel and made at least six illegal credit card transactions for the fictitious business, AAA Carpet. "We deny all the charges in the complaint," Jasper said. "The thing to remember is he is not charged in any way with any part in the tragic events of September 11." Jasper said his client did not enter the country until September 10 and that he would dispute whether Al-Marri had actually made the phone calls to the UAE number. If convicted on all counts, Al-Marri could be sentenced to a maximum of 50 years in prison and be fined more than $1 million. The new charges comprise the second case against Al-Marri. During the search of his home, investigators said they found in his laptop case a handwritten list of 36 credit card numbers, half of which did not belong to him, allegedly used in unauthorized purchases. Al-Marri was indicted February 6 on one count of credit card fraud. That case is scheduled for trial in Manhattan federal court next month before U.S. District Judge Victor Marrerro.
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