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25 October 1998
Source: Fax from US Attorney, Southern District of New York, Public Information
Office.
See indictment: http://jya.com/isa-v-hage+3.htm
See related files: http://jya.com/alqfiles.htm
___________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
OCTOBER 7, 1998 MARVIN SMILON, HERBERT HADAD
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600
FBI
JOSEPH A. VALIQUETTE
(212) 384-2715
JAMES M. MARGOLIN
(212) 384-2720
PRESS RELEASE
MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, and LEWIS D. SCHILIRO, Assistant
Director in Charge of the New York FBI Office, announced that
WADIH EL HAGE, FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, and
MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, were indicted today in Manhattan
federal court for their involvement in a terrorist plot to kill
United States nationals.
The first count of the superseding indictment charges
that EL HAGE, ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH and AL-'OWHALI acted
together with members of "al Qaeda," a worldwide terrorist
organization led by Usama Bin Laden, in a conspiracy to murder
United States nationals. The objectives of this international
terrorist conspiracy allegedly included: killing members of the
American military stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia; killing
United States nationals employed at the United States Embassies in
1
Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and concealing the
activities of the co-conspirators by, among other things,
establishing front companies, providing false identity and travel
documents, engaging in coded correspondence and providing false
information to the authorities in various countries.
Bin Laden's organization al Qaeda allegedly functioned
both on its own and through some of the terrorist organizations
that operated under its umbrella, including the Al Jihad group
based in Egypt, the Islamic Group (also known as "el Gamaa Islamia"
or simply "Gamaa't"), led at one time by Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman,
and a number of jihad groups in other countries, including the
Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia. Al Qaeda also
maintained cells and personnel in a number of countries to
facilitate its activities, including Kenya, Tanzania, the United
Kingdom and the United States.
According to the indictment, Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda
forged alliances with the National islamic Front in the sudan and
with representatives of the government in Iran, and its associated
terrorist group Hezballah, with the goal of working together
against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly
the United States.
In order to further this international conspiracy to
murder United States nationals, Usama Bin Laden and other
coconspirators are alleged to have committed the following acts:
2
(1) providing training camps for use by al Qaeda and its
affiliates; (2) recruiting United States citizens to help
facilitate the goals of al Qaeda (including the defendant EL HAGE);
(3) purchasing weapons and explosives; and (4) establishing
headquarters and businesses in the Sudan.
The indictment also describes fatwahs issued by Bin Laden
and a committee of al Qaeda members urging other members and
associates of al Qaeda to kill Americans. Several of these fatwahs
called for attacks on American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia and
Somalia. The indictment also alleges that American troops in
Somalia were indeed attacked and killed by persons who received
training from al Qaeda members or those trained by al Qaeda. The
indictment alleges that the defendants ODEH and ABDULLAH MOHAMMED
provided training in Somalia on behalf of al Qaeda.
The indictment specifically lists the August 7, 1998
bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as
actions taken in furtherance of this conspiracy to kill Americans.
The indictment goes on to detail actions taken by the defendants
ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH and OWHALI in carrying out those
bombings. In order to further this conspiracy, the defendant EL
HAGE engaged in coded correspondence and also lied repeatedly to a
grand jury sitting in this district, both before and after the
embassy bombings, about his contacts with al Qaeda.
ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI are also charged
3
in additional counts with bombing the two embassies and causing the
deaths of more than 200 persons and injuring more than 5,000
others. Those three defendants are also charged with murdering all
of the civilians killed in the embassy bombings. This indictment
names all of the victims of the bombings and each victim is charged
as a separate count of murder for a total of 224 counts of murder
against ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI.
EL HAGE is charged in separate counts with lying to a
federal grand jury investigating Usama Bin Laden and the
involvement of al Qaeda in international terrorism. Additional
counts charge EL HAGE with lying to law enforcement agents about
his relationship to al Qaeda and specifically about his knowledge
of defendant ODEH.
Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO said the investigation of
this case is being conducted by the Joint Terrorist Task Force
composed of the FBI, the New York City Police Department, the
United States Department of State, the United States Secret
Service, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service,
the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Marshals
Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the New York
State Police and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO praised the Governments of
Kenya, Tanzania, and the Comoros Islands for their cooperation in
this investigation and praised all the investigative efforts and
4
cooperation of the agencies involved in the case. They also said
that the investigation is continuing.
Ms. WHITE stated: "These defendants are charged with
engaging in an international conspiracy to murder Americans, a
conspiracy that included the bombings of the United States
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Today we have also charged three
of these defendants -- ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI --
with separate counts of murder in the death of each and every
victim of the embassy bombings. All those victims are named in
this Indictment, citizens of Kenya, Tanzania, and teh United
States, who were killed simply because they were near those embassy
compounds when this terrorist group attacked. Justice will
served for every one of those victims."
Mr. SCHILIRO stated: "This Indictment is the latest
product of the great resolve and determination being exercised
daily by the investigators and prosecutors in the embassy bombing
cases. It is further evidence of what we have been saying from the
outset -- that our efforts will not subside until all those
responsible for these acts of terror are brought to justice."
Defendants ODEH and AL-'OWHALI were ordered detained in
August after their arrival from Kenya. If convicted, those two
defendants face life imprisonment without the possibility of
parole, or death. EL HAGE has been detained since his September
16, 1998, arrest for perjury. He faces life imprisonment if
5
convicted of the charges in this indictment. ABDULLAH MOHAMMED
remains a fugitive.
Assistant United States Attorneys PATRICK J. FITZGERALD,
DAVID N. KELLEY, KENNETH M. KARAS, and MICHAEL J. GARCIA, are in
charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely
accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty.
98-223 ###
[End]
Transcription and HTML by JYA/Urban Deadline.