Trial of Massachusetts man accused of aiding terrorism begins

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
By Lauren Keiper

BOSTON | Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:54pm EDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Massachusetts man accused of supporting militants traveled to Yemen for terrorism training and translated Arabic messages to help further al Qaeda's cause, prosecutors said in Boston federal court on Thursday.

During opening statements in the jury trial of Tarek Mehanna, prosecutors said the defendant answered a call to action from Osama bin Laden to fight and kill American soldiers.

Mehanna, they said, translated videos and texts from Arabic to English from his "cushy bedroom" in the Boston suburbs and widely distributed al Qaeda's message of jihad over the internet.

Although he failed to obtain terrorism training during a 2004 trip to Yemen, prosecutors said he viewed himself as part of the media wing of al Qaeda and conspired with others to support the organization.

Mehanna, 29, of Sudbury, Massachusetts has been charged with "providing material support to terrorists" and other crimes, including conspiracy to kill in a foreign country and lying to law enforcement officers.

If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of life in prison on the most serious charge.

Prosecutors said Mehanna provided vital skills and services to al Qaeda, a known terrorist organization.

They said witnesses who will testify against him include Mehanna's friend Daniel Maldonado, a New Hampshire man now serving a 10-year sentence for getting al Qaeda military training.

The defense said Mehanna was an American citizen guilty of nothing more than trying to explore his Muslim background and Islam.

He studied Islamic law and on his own initiative translated classical texts from Arabic to English. He traveled to Yemen to visit schools where he one day hoped to continue his studies, defense attorneys said.

He also spoke openly and often about his belief that the United States military should not be in Iraq and even expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden's efforts to get foreign powers out of Muslim countries, the defense said.

"He didn't hide his beliefs, he wore them on his sleeve," said defense attorney J.W. Carney, Jr.

Mehanna was not hired, ordered, directed or paid by al Qaeda, Carney said.

He was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Sudbury, a suburb west of Boston, and graduated with a doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Prosecutors showed video clips with images of Osama bin Laden that Mehanna translated with English subtitles as part of their opening statement.

The defense displayed family photos of a younger Mehanna, a typical American kid playing baseball and sitting on Santa's lap.

Mehanna had been living at home with his parents when he was arrested in 2008. The trial was expected to continue for six or seven weeks.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)

New Automobile

Education Information

Read More

Massachusetts case ignites "home grown" attack fears

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A ''surveillance photo'' that the FBI says was taken of the Pentagon by defendant Rezwan Ferdaus is seen in a handout photo released by the U.S. Justice Department after the photo was submitted to U.S. District Court in Massachusetts as part of a criminal complaint and affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston, September 28, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/U.S. Department of Justice/Handout

By Ros Krasny

BOSTON | Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:51pm EDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - The arrest of a Massachusetts man who allegedly plotted to fly explosives-packed model planes into the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol has reignited concern about the risk of a home-grown militant attack in the United States.

Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, was indicted on Thursday in the explosives plan, as well as for attempting to provide support and resources to al Qaeda in order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers overseas.

"Ferdaus' arrest underscores the need to continue efforts to combat domestic radicalization and the evolving threat of 'lone wolf' extremists," said Peter King, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee.

Ferdaus was born in the United States. His immigrant parents' national origin was not disclosed, and authorities were treading carefully.

"I want the public to understand that Mr. Ferdaus' conduct, as alleged in the complaint, is not reflective of a particular culture, community or religion," U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in announcing the arrest.

Massachusetts Congressman Bill Keating said the "home grown" aspect of the Ferdaus case was disturbing.

"People have been told this, but perhaps until now didn't understand how real it is," Keating, a first-term Democrat who sits on the homeland security committee, told Reuters.

"When I got to Congress in January I was told we are at enormous risk. These things are very real, and they present the greatest risk," said Keating.

ROCK BAND

Ferdaus graduated from Boston's Northeastern University in 2008 with a degree in physics, and played drums in an alt-rock jam band, The Silk Road, several years ago.

His only previous brush with the law was in 2003 when, according to the Milford Daily News, he and two other seniors at Ashland High School poured concrete in front of 10 of the school's doors as a prank. They were also accused of burning an American flag.

At the time of his arrest Ferdaus was living with his parents -- an engineer and a healthcare worker -- in a middle-class neighborhood of Ashland, about 25 miles west of Boston. Real estate sites estimate the 3,141-square-foot, four bedroom white colonial house's value at $565,000.

"The threat of Islamic terrorism transcends socioeconomics and does not only emanate from the poor and under-privileged," King said.

Joseph Wippl, a professor at Boston University's Center for International Relations, said it was folly to think that immersion in U.S. culture somehow inoculated potential criminals from wanting to do harm to the country.

"There are a small group of people who are sociopathic, inclined to violence, who crave attention and who are willing to engage in this type of behavior," said Wippl, a former CIA operations officer.

"If we watch -- in the United States, in Germany, Sweden, the U.K. -- things are constantly at a low boil and we always need to be on our guard," he said.

In its affidavit, U.S. authorities said Ferdaus was unwavering in his resolve to stage a violent "jihad." He told undercover agents who he thought were members of, or recruiters for, al Qaeda, that his goal was to kill as many "kafirs," or non-believers, as possible.

Another Massachusetts man, Tarek Mehanna, was arrested in 2009 for a plot to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan and civilians in shopping malls. He is awaiting trial.

In 2010 two men were arrested in Watertown, Massachusetts, in connection with an attempted bombing in New York's Times Square. One, Ali Aftab Kahn, was convicted of unwittingly supplying almost $5,000 to the would-be Times Square bomber.

The incidents do not suggest that Massachusetts is a hotbed of anti-American activity, said Wippl. "This can take place just about anywhere."

(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Jerry Norton)

View the original article here

Peliculas Online

Read More