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Ehsanul Islam Sadequee convicted for supporting terror
ATLANTA, Georgia—A federal jury has found Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Georgia guilty on all four counts of an indictment charging him with supporting terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization, after a trial that lasted seven days. The jury deliberated for approximately five hours before reaching the guilty verdicts on Wednesday, August 12. U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. presided over the trial.
David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said, "This investigation and the two resulting trials of Mr. Sadequee and Mr. Ahmed underscore the importance of international and domestic cooperation in combating terrorism. The agents, analysts and prosecutors involved in these cases and in related investigations around the world deserve a special thanks for their efforts."
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia David E. Nahmias said, "With this guilty verdict, a long and successful international counter-terrorism investigation comes to a close. Defendants in the United States, the United Kingdom, Bosnia, and elsewhere - all of whom conspired together to provide material support to violent jihad - are now safely behind bars. For that, we can be thankful. This case remains, however, a sobering reminder that terrorism and its supporters are not confined to distant battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. As recent events further demonstrate, there are still some American citizens willing to take up arms against the United States, our people, our allies, and our interests. In the face of this clear threat, federal law enforcement must and will remain vigilant, seeking to disrupt future terrorist networks before a timer is ticking or a trigger is pulled. I commend the many law enforcement agents, prosecutors, and support staff who have worked so hard for so long to gather and present the evidence that led to today's guilty verdict and all the other terrorism convictions around the world that were part of this case."
Atlanta FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Jones said, "The FBI continues to investigate a growing number of cases involving U.S. citizens providing material support to terrorists. However, as we move further away from the tragic events of September 11, 2001, there also seems to be a growing public perception that such conduct is harmless, especially since no bombs were exploded and no one was killed. This defendant, like many others we have investigated, tried to argue that his criminal conduct and activities were protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The FBI does not buy that argument and today the jury agreed." Jones added, "I would like to thank our law enforcement and intelligence community partners, domestic and international, who provided tremendous assistance to the Atlanta FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force throughout the investigation and prosecution of Sadequee, Syed Haris Ahmed, and their co-conspirators."
According to U.S. Attorney Nahmias and the evidence presented during the trial, which began on August 3, 2009: Sadequee was born in Fairfax, Va., in 1986. He attended school in the United States, Canada, and Bangladesh. In December 2001, while living in Bangladesh, he sent an email seeking to join the Taliban, to help them in their fight against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Several years later, in late 2004 and early 2005, Sadequee, having returned to the United States to his family home in Roswell, entered an illegal agreement - a conspiracy - with others to provide material support to terrorists engaged in violent jihad.
The evidence indicated that the material support consisted of (1) Sadequee; his co-defendant, Syed Haris Ahmed, who was convicted after a bench trial in June 2009; and other individuals who intended to provide themselves as personnel to engage in violent jihad abroad and in the United States, and (2) property, namely, short videos of symbolic and infrastructure targets for potential terrorist attacks in the Washington, D.C., area, including the U.S. Capitol, the World Bank, the Masonic Temple, and a fuel tank farm -- all of which were taken by Sadequee and Syed Haris Ahmed to be sent to "the jihadi brothers" abroad.
At trial the government presented evidence that Sadequee and his co-conspirators used the internet to develop relationships and maintain contact with each other and with other supporters of violent jihad in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Bosnia and elsewhere. In support of the conspiracy, in March 2005, Sadequee traveled with Syed Haris Ahmed to Toronto, Canada, to meet with other co-conspirators, including Fahim Ahmed, one of the "Toronto 18" suspects now awaiting a terrorism trial in Canada. While in Canada, Sadequee and his co-conspirators discussed their plans to travel to Pakistan in an effort to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET), as preparation for engaging in violent jihad abroad or in the United States. They also discussed potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States.
In April 2005, Sadequee and Syed Haris Ahmed drove to the Washington, D.C., area to take the casing videos, which the government’s evidence showed they made to establish their credentials with other violent jihad supporters as well as for use in violent jihad propaganda and planning. Sadequee later sent several of the video clips to Younis Tsouli, aka "Irhabi007" (Arabic for "Terrorist 007"), a propagandist and recruiter for the terrorist organization Al Qaeda in Iraq, and to Aabid Hussein Khan, aka "Abu Umar," a facilitator for the Pakistan-based terrorist organizations LET and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM). Both Tsouli and Khan have since been convicted of terrorism-related offenses in the United Kingdom and are imprisoned there.
During the trial, the government’s evidence showed that Sadequee and Khan, using a members-only violent jihadist web forum known as At-Tibyan Publications, also tried to recruit at least two other individuals to participate in violent jihad. One, a self-identified 17-year-old American convert, was praised by Sadequee for his "capacity of fulfilling [his] largest obligations in [his] native land."
The government also presented evidence at trial that in July 2005, Syed Haris Ahmed traveled from Atlanta to Pakistan in an attempt to enter a training camp and then engage in violent jihad. While in Pakistan, Syed Haris Ahmed met with Aabid Hussein Khan and the two discussed Ahmed’s intention of joining a camp. However, Ahmed’s family and others convinced him to postpone that effort. The day before Syed Haris Ahmed returned to Atlanta, Sadequee departed Atlanta for Bangladesh, carrying with him, hidden in the lining of his suitcase, an encrypted CD; a map of Washington, D.C., that included all of the targets he and Syed Haris Ahmed had cased; and a scrap of paper with Khan’s mobile phone number in Pakistan.
Once in Bangladesh, Sadequee began to conspire more closely with Younis Tsouli and Mirsad Bektasevic, a Swedish national of Serbian origins. Specifically, Tsouli, Bektasevic, Sadequee and others formed a violent jihadist organization known as "Al Qaeda in Northern Europe." The group was to be based in Sweden and focus on terrorist attacks in Europe. The evidence at trial showed that in October 2005, Sadequee sought a visa that would allow him to relocate from Bangladesh to Sweden. Bektasevic was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Oct. 19, 2005. He and a co-conspirator were found in possession of over 20 pounds of plastic explosives, a suicide belt containing plastic explosives and a detonator, and a firearm with a silencer. Bektasevic also had in his pocket a cassette containing a video demonstrating how to make detonators; displaying an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons, grenades, explosives and other arms, and announcing they were for use in Europe; and depicting Bektasevic and others placing a grenade booby trap in a forest near Sarajevo. Sadequee had been in electronic and telephonic contact with Bektasevic as recently as three days before Bektasevic’s arrest, discussing the silencer and explosives Bektasevic had acquired for the group and the making of Bektasevic’s video. Bektasevic has since been convicted of terrorism offenses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is imprisoned there.
Meanwhile, after returning to Atlanta to resume his studies at Georgia Tech in August 2005, Syed Haris Ahmed remained in contact with Sadequee, expressed regret at his failure to join violent jihadists in Pakistan, conducted Internet research on topics such as high explosives and defeating Special Operations troops, and discussed his intent to make another attempt to enter a training camp. In March 2006, Ahmed was approached by FBI agents and agreed to a series of voluntary, non-custodial interviews over the course of eight days. Amid efforts to deny his illegal activities and mislead the agents, Ahmed made increasingly incriminating statements. Efforts by the FBI to obtain Ahmed’s cooperation in the ongoing international terrorism investigation ended after the FBI discovered that Ahmed was surreptitiously contacting Sadequee, who was still in Bangladesh, to advise him of the FBI investigation and warn him not to return to the United States.
Sadequee was arrested by the FBI on April 20, 2006, in Bangladesh, on charges arising out of false statements he made in an August 2005 interview with the FBI at JFK Airport in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). Sadequee was indicted in this district on July 19, 2006, and transferred to Atlanta in August of that year, after the charges in EDNY were dismissed at the Government’s request.
At trial, Sadequee elected to represent himself, with stand-by counsel present to assist him as requested.
Sadequee was convicted today of (1) conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; (2) attempting to provide and providing material support to terrorists; (3) conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET), a designated foreign terrorist organization; and (4) attempting to provide material support to LET. The material support for terrorists consisted of personnel and property (the Washington casing videos). The material support for LET consisted of personnel. Sadequee could receive a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, followed by a term of supervised release up to life, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders. Sentencing for Sadequee and Ahmed is scheduled before Judge Duffey on Oct. 15, 2009, at 9:30 a.m.
This case is being investigated by agents and officers of the Atlanta Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is led by the FBI’s Atlanta Division, with assistance from law enforcement agencies in several other countries.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert McBurney and Christopher Bly and U.S. Department of Justice Counterterrorism Section Trial Attorney Alexis Collins are prosecuting the case.
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ZOA condemns Israel's exclusion at World Archaelogical Congress
NEW YORK (Press Release)—The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has condemned the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) for convening its conference (held in Palestinian Authority-controlled Ramallah) for excluding Israel, one of the world’s most prominent countries containing major archeological sites of world significance. According to reports, the WAC conference, entitled ‘Overcoming Structural Violence,’ did not invite the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) despite the fact that some of the topics being discussed at the conference deal with areas in Jerusalem where an archaeological excavation is being conducted exclusively by the IAA.
The IAA wrote to the WAC president to criticize its exclusion saying, “The [WAC] is introducing the [Palestinian-Israeli] conflict into the professional side of archaeology … We remind you that this is a conference organized by the World Archaeological Congress and not a Palestinian archaeological organization … This requires you to make it universal. The omission to include or invite Israeli speakers to address issues that directly affect their daily work.... We need not remind you that one of the principles governing of the WAC is the promotion of dialogue between archaeologists, but this conference is a monologue.” IAA also said that the conference program is “full of abstracts condemning Israeli archaeology” containing “huge numbers of inaccuracies” (‘Israeli archaeologists excluded from Ramallah confab,’ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, August 13, 2009).
In its letter, IAA noted that it had not even been informed of the convening of the conference until the previous day; that the “omission to include or invite” Israeli speakers underscored the political hostility that motivated the conference; and repudiated the false WAC claim, made at the Ramallah conference, that Israel had impeded or opposed the participation of Israeli archaeologists at the conference, which it said, cast a “a dubious light on the organizers’ professional and civic integrity.” The IAA concluded by saying, “May we remind you that the cultural heritage of Jerusalem is under the auspices of the Israeli authorities, a de-facto situation for which Israel is responsible by international law. We find it unacceptable that the WAC will be touring in an area of our responsibility without any coordination with us. Furthermore it is blatantly unethical to visit active archaeological sites without informing the archaeologists charged with the excavation. (‘The Israel Antiquities Authority to the World Archaeological Congress “Instead of Archaeology, You are Talking Politics,”’ Independent Media Review & Analysis,’ August 13, 2009).
ZOA Executive Director Gary Ratner said, “We see in this latest politicized decision by the World Archaeological Congress to exclude Israel a continuing pattern by international organizations of all kinds to become anti-Israel partisans, actively assisting a Palestinian campaign to delegitimize Israel by holding it up to unfounded international criticism. The World Archaeological Congress needs to apologize unreservedly to Israel for its politically biased, unprofessional and unethical conduct in this affair.”
Mountain range orientation may explain fall foliage differences
HAIFA, Israel—Walking outdoors in the fall, the splendidly colorful leaves adorning the trees are a delight to the eye. In Europe these autumn leaves are mostly yellow, while the United States and East Asia boast lustrous red foliage. But why is it that there are such differences in autumnal hues around the world? A new theory provided by Prof. Simcha Lev-Yadun of the Department of Science Education- Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim and Prof. Jarmo Holopainen of the University of Kuopio in Finland and published in the Journal New Phytologist proposes taking a step 35 million years back to solve the color mystery.
The green of a tree's leaves is from the larger proportion of the chlorophyll pigment in the leaves. The change in color to red or yellow as autumn approaches is not the result of the leaves' dying, but of a series of processes – which differ between the red and yellow autumn leaves. When the green chlorophyll in leaves diminishes, the yellow pigments that already exist become dominant and give their color to the leaves. Red autumn leaves result from a different process: As the chlorophyll diminishes, a red pigment, anthocyanin, which was not previously present, is produced in the leaf. These facts were only recently discovered and led to a surge of research studies attempting to explain why trees expend resources on creating red pigments just as they are about to shed their leaves.
Explanations that have been offered vary and there is no agreement on this as of yet. One discipline suggests that the red pigment is produced as a result of physiological functions that make the re-translocation of amino acids to the woody parts of the tree more efficient in setting up its protection against the potential damage of light and cold. Other explanations suggest that the red pigment is produced as part of the tree's strategy for protecting itself against insects that thrive on the flow of amino acids. But whatever the answer is, these explanations do not help us understand why the process of creating anthocyanin, the red pigment, does not occur in Europe.
An evolutionary ecology approach infers that the strong autumn colors result from the long evolutionary war between the trees and the insects that use them as hosts. During the fall season, which is when the insects suck the amino acids from the leaves and later lay their eggs, the tree colors its leaves in red because aphids are attracted to yellow ones, so as to advertise to the insects as to the defensive quality of the tree in order to lower the tendency of the insects to occupy the leaves for nutrition and the bark for breeding. In this case too, the protective logic of red pigmentation may be sound, but the yellow leaves cannot be reconciled with this approach. But to settle this point, the new theory can be applied.
According to the theory provided by Prof. Lev-Yadun and Prof. Holopainen, until 35 million years ago, large areas of the globe were covered with evergreen jungles or forests composed of tropical trees. During this phase, a series of ice ages and dry spells transpired and many tree species evolved to become deciduous. Many of these trees also began an evolutionary process of producing red deciduous leaves in order to ward off insects. In North America, as in East Asia, north-to-south mountain chains enabled plant and animal 'migration' to the south or north with the advance and retreat of the ice according to the climatic fluctuations. And, of course, along with them migrated their insect 'enemies' too. Thus the war for survival continued there uninterrupted. In Europe, on the other hand, the mountains – the Alps and their lateral branches – reach from east to west, and therefore no protected areas were created. Many tree species that did not survive the severe cold died, and with them the insects that depended on them for survival. At the end of the repeated ice ages, most tree species that had survived in Europe had no need to cope with many of the insects that had become extinct, and therefore no longer had to expend efforts on producing red warning leaves.
According to the scientists, evidence supporting this theory can be found in the dwarf shrubs that grow in Scandinavia, which still color their leaves red in autumn. Unlike trees, dwarf shrubs have managed to survive the ice ages under a layer of snow that covered them and protected them from the extreme condition above. Under the blanket of snow, the insects that fed off the shrubs were also protected – so the battle with insects continued in these plants, making it necessary for them to color their leaves red.
SHONDA FILE
Gary Kaplan, Bet on Sports founder, pleads guilty to racketeering charges in Missouri
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (Press Release)—Gary Stephen Kaplan, founder of BetonSports (BoS), a large illegal offshore sports wagering business, entered guilty pleas to multiple federal charges, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced Friday.
Pursuant to a complex plea agreement, Gary Stephen Kaplan entered pleas of guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate the RICO statute, conspiring to violate the Wire Wager Act and violating the Wire Wager Act. He appeared before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson in St. Louis, Missouri. As part of the plea, Kaplan will forfeit to the United States $43,650,000 in criminal proceeds. Kaplan caused the wire transfer of that amount of funds from a Swiss bank account to a U.S. District Court bank account approximately one week prior to entering his guilty pleas. If the Court ultimately accepts the terms of the plea agreement, Kaplan will be sentenced to no less than 41 months and no more than 51 months.
Kaplan admitted in Court today that beginning in the mid to late 1990s, he set up business entities offshore in Aruba, Antigua and eventually Costa Rica to provide sportsbook services to U.S. residents through Internet websites and toll-free telephone numbers. He founded, operated and controlled, with other co-conspirators, the enterprise known as “BetOnSports.” BetOnSports advertised heavily in the U.S. to solicit U.S. residents to place sports wagers by telephone and over the Internet. BetOnSports-related entities controlled toll free numbers and domain names advertised by BetOnSports. Technologically, Kaplan’s toll-free telephone lines terminated in Houston, Texas, or Miami, Florida, and then were forwarded to Costa Rica by satellite transmitter or fiber-optic cable. Some of Kaplan’s web servers were located in Miami and were remotely controlled from Costa Rica. U.S. residents became customers of BetOnSports by depositing funds on account and placing wagers over U.S. toll-free telephone lines and via the Internet using the deposited funds. Funds were sent from the U.S. customers to BoS operations outside the U.S. and BoS sent winnings from outside the U.S. to its U.S. customers.
BetOnSports was highly successful and attracted a large number of U.S. customers. By 2004, the Bet on Sports organization’s principal base of operations in Costa Rica employed approximately 1,700 people. During the year ended January 31, 2004, BetOnSports had close to 1 million registered customers, accepted over 10 million sports bets in a cumulative gross amount that exceeded one billion dollars. In mid-2004, Kaplan made a successful public offering of the stock of BetOnSports on the London Alternative Investment Market that netted him over $100,000,000. Those funds eventually found their way into various Isle of Jersey trusts, which invested the funds in Swiss bank accounts.
The guilty pleas conclude a lengthy investigative and prosecution effort by several law enforcement agencies, including the IRS and the FBI. Kaplan has been in custody without a bond set since his arrest in March, 2007. Sentencing has been set for October 27, 2009.
"Taking away the assets from these illegal organizations hits criminals where it hurts most - it deprives them of their profits," said Toni Weirauch, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation.
"Gary Kaplan made millions of dollars by making it too easy for people to gamble away their hard earned money without having to leave their homes," said John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis. "Today's guilty plea should have a lasting effect, because Kaplan was not only the founder of BetonSports, he was also one of the pioneers of illegal online gambling. As we get closer to successfully ending this investigation, the FBI will continue to work toward catching the remaining two subjects. We will follow all leads, no matter how far, to bring to justice those involved in this scheme."
Reap commended the work performed on the case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Chesterfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Steve Holtshouser, Steven Muchnick and John Bodenhausen and Special Assistant United States Attorney Charles Birmingham are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Reap also thanked the governments of the Isle of Jersey and Switzerland for their assistance with successfully concluding this prosecution.
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