Thread FULL!!!__AMERICA AT WAR!__Use New Thread!

Top 1585. Apr 10, 2002 11:38 PM

» JenL_2 - Attorney Lynne Stewart Indicted

from 1/10 MSNBC.com:

<img src="http://a799.ms.akamai.net/3/799/388/0708..." width=130 height=170 align="left">Lawyer Lynne Stewart

Lawyers rush to defense
of indicted colleague

Attorney for Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman accused of messaging his supporters

MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Defense lawyers across the country harshly criticized the prosecution of the attorney for an imprisoned Muslim cleric Wednesday, denouncing her indictment as an assault on the Bill of Rights in an attempt to scare lawyers away from defending suspected terrorists.

LYNNE STEWART, 63, a nationally known defense lawyer, and three other people were indicted Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on charges that they provided support for the Egyptian-based Islamic Group by acting as messengers for Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.

Abdel-Rahman, the leader of the terrorist organization, is serving a life sentence for conspiracy in a failed plot to bomb the United Nations, the FBI headquarters in Manhattan, two tunnels and a bridge connecting New Jersey and New York. Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network have cited his decrees as justification for attacking Americans.

For “the past several years,” Stewart has used prison visits as a cover to pass information back and forth between Abdel-Rahman and the group’s international network, the indictment charged, violating federal law barring non-legal communication with Abdel-Rahman and enabling him to maintain his leadership of the Islamic Group.

Stewart pleaded “emphatically not guilty” Tuesday afternoon and was released on a $500,000 bond.

Two of her co-defendants — Mohammed Yousry, 45, who accompanied Stewart as an Arab-speaking interpreter when she visited Abdel-Rahman in prison, and Ahmed Abdel Sattar, 42, a postal worker described as a “surrogate” for Abdel-Rahman — also pleaded not guilty. The third co-defendant, Yassir Al-Sirri, former head of the London-based Islamic Observation Center, is in British custody on previous charges.

‘ATTACK ON BILL OF RIGHTS’

Defense lawyers characterized Stewart’s indictment as a signal of government encroachment on civil liberties.

“There’s clearly an attempt to infringe upon communications between attorneys and clients,” Bill Goodman, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, told the Associated Press. “It’s a full-scale attack on the Bill of Rights.”

Manhattan lawyer Gerald Lefcourt, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the indictment would “send a real chill through the defense community. People are going to be thinking, ‘Who’s looking and who’s listening?’ when they’re talking with clients.”

Ronald Kuby, who represented Abdel-Rahman before Stewart took the case, called Stewart “one of the most respected courtroom advocates in New York, with tremendous substance and a very deep commitment to her clients,” who have ranged from Weather Underground radicals to mob killer Sammy “the Bull” Gravano.

But Attorney General John Ashcroft, who announced the indictment in Washington, said Stewart “repeatedly and willfully violated” federal orders restricting Abdel-Rahman’s contact with the outside world. She signed an agreement swearing that she and her staff would abide by the order before she could see Abdel-Rahman, Ashcroft said.

Irwin Schwartz, president of the Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, told the Chicago Tribune that the validity of the agreement Stewart signed would probably be challenged in court.

Ashcroft said the government from now on would monitor Abdel-Rahman’s conversations with his lawyers, the first use of an anti-terrorism tactic permitted under the Patriot Act, a law passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

original conviction of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman from 10/95 CNN:

<img src="http://www.cnn.com/US/9510/terror_trial/..." width=120 height=162 align="left">Defense: Juror `bias' in terror verdicts

Sheik, others convicted in New York

From Correspondent Brian Jenkins
October 1, 1995

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Defense attorneys said "preconceived bias" by jurors led to Sunday's terror conspiracy conviction of Egyptian cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine others.

One of the defendants, El Sayyid Nosair, also was found guilty of the 1991 killing of extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane. Nosair and Abdel-Rahman both face the possibility of life in prison.

The convictions by a federal jury involve a plot to blow up the United Nations, kill Egypt's president and bomb vital highway tunnels and FBI offices in New York. The verdicts followed 37 hours of deliberations stretching over seven days.

Prosecutors charged that Abdel-Rahman and his co-defendants plotted a war of terrorism against the United States to force a change in Washington's Mideast policy.

The sheik's attorney, Lynne Stewart, said he told her not to cry after the verdict was announced. "He said, `I'm not the first person to go to jail for his beliefs, I won't be the last. There are always pitfalls when you choose this road and this is one of them,'" she said.

The jury found the sheik guilty of trying to arrange the assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and of suggesting that the U.S. Army be targeted for bombings. The formal charges against Abdel-Rahman were seditious conspiracy, solicitation to murder, conspiracy to murder, solicitation to attack a U.S. military installation and bombing conspiracy.

During the trial, excerpts were introduced from speeches in which the sheik said, "We must terrorize the enemies of Islam and ... shake the earth under their feet."

Stewart maintains the Sheik is innocent, and claims the jury had a "preconceived bias".

"The jury went in there with a preconceived bias and felt it was safer just to lock up the terrorists and not worry about what the evidence was and it is for that reason that Sheik Omar is facing the rest of his life in prison."

Valerie Amsterdam, defense attorney for Fadil Khallafalla, said the swiftness of the verdict made her suspect it was predestined from the moment the jury was picked.

The jury was kept anonymous and under high security, a tactic Amsterdam suggested was a prosecution tactic to frighten them.

John Jacobs, lawyer for defendant Mohammed Saleh, also credited the "fear factor" with motivating the jury to convict. "There was no way they would let any of these defendants would go home again," Jacobs said.

Saleh is a Palestinian who owned the gas station the government said provided diesel fuel for bombs. "I think my client was set up by the FBI," Jacobs said. "They bought their conviction with a million dollars they gave the informant. They bought it with the misconduct of the agents."

Sentencing for the 10 defendants is set for mid-January. Each defense lawyer has vowed to appeal the convictions.

The originator of the plot, prosecutors contended, was Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali, who entered a guilty plea early in the trial and agreed to cooperate with the government. Siddig Ali brought in six men to mix fuel and fertilizer to make bombs, but those men said they thought they were training to fight with fellow Muslims in Bosnia.

The lawyer for Nosair claimed his client was an innocent bystander in Kahane's murder. Nosair was acquitted of murder in an earlier, state trial, where he was convicted of related weapons charges. Prosecutors were able to retry Nosair for the murder because the federal indictment includes the killing as part of the alleged terrorist conspiracy.

The government also claimed the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six people, was part of the ongoing conspiracy but prosecutors offered no clear evidence that any of the 10 defendants in this trial played a part in that bombing.

.....Jen

-- posted by JenL_2

http://webcenter.newssearch.netscape.com...

Top 1586. Apr 13, 2002 10:28 PM

» Sinewave - New Venezuela Head Pledges Elections

Interesting timing....

New Venezuela Head Pledges Elections
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's military tapped a leading businessman Friday to replace former leftist president Hugo Chavez, whose combative rule was ended by army commanders after a bloody repression of a huge street protest.

Pedro Carmona - a figure straight from the economic elite Chavez had demonized during his three-year rule - said he would hold legislative and presidential elections within a year to replace Chavez.

But Carmona's appointment was challenged by Venezuela's attorney general as unconstitutional, and several Latin American nations condemned Chavez's ouster Friday.

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said Chavez was still president because he had not, in fact, resigned but was forced out by the military. Rodriguez said the constitution calls for Chavez's resignation to be accepted by Congress.

In Costa Rica, leaders at the summit of the 19-nation Rio Group of Latin American countries condemned ``the interruption of constitutional order'' in Venezuela.

Mexican President Vicente Foz said his country would not recognize Venezuela's new goverment until new elections are held, though he said diplomatic relations continue. Brazil, meanwhile, urged Venezuela to hold new elections as soon as possible.

There was no immediate response from the high command or Carmona, who was sworn in late Friday after his supporters issued a declaration accusing Chavez of violating democratic norms and human rights.

Carmona dissolved the formerly Chavez-controlled congress, Supreme Court, attorney general's and comptroller's offices, and he declared a 1999 Constitution sponsored by Chavez null and void. Venezuela will return to a bicameral legislature under the previous constitution, he said.

Carmona also suspended 48 laws decreed by Chavez in November that generally increased the state's role in the economy. A 25-member advisory council was appointed.

Chavez, who could face charges for the deaths of protesters, was being held in an army base after being taken from his palace before dawn. The former paratrooper's strong-arm drive to impose a ``revolution'' had polarized Venezuela, and his friendships with Cuba's Fidel Castro and Iraq's Saddam Hussein had angered the United States.

Carmona promised an end to anti-Chavez strikes that had severely cut oil production by Venezuela, the third biggest supplier to the United States and the world's fourth biggest oil exporter.

``Everyone will feel that there exists plenty of freedom, pluralism and respect for the state of law,'' the mild-mannered 60-year-old Carmona said. He urged Venezuelans to help him restore stability to the struggling economy.

continues...................

-- posted by Sinewave

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20020...

Top 1587. Apr 14, 2002 2:27 PM

» Steven_Russell - US in firefight Sat., Day 189

U.S. Troops Attacked in Afghanistan
American Troops Come Under Fire in Afghanistan, Kill Several 'terrorists'

The Associated Press

BAGRAM, Afghanistan April 14 — American-led forces were shot at while on patrol in Afghanistan and believe they killed "several terrorists" when they returned fire, a U.S. military spokesman said Sunday.

After weeks of no combat with al-Qaida or Taliban troops reported, Maj. Bryan Hilferty said a joint patrol of Afghan soldiers and U.S. special forces came under fire Saturday. He would not say where the attack happened, but said no Afghans or Americans were hurt in the firefight.

The fighting broke out early in the day when it was still dark, and the allied soldiers called in an AC-130 gunship to provide air support, Hilferty said at Bagram air base, one hour north of the capital, Kabul.

"U.S. forces and Afghan allies received ineffective fire yesterday, returned fire and killed several terrorists," he said. He added, however, that the forces were not "100 percent" sure about the enemy casualties because they didn't inspect the bodies after the skirmish.

-- posted by Steven_Russell

http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/commo...

Top 1588. Apr 14, 2002 2:34 PM

» Steven_Russell - rockets hit Kandahar

Afghan rocket attack kills two

14apr02
AT least two Afghans were killed and several others injured when three rockets struck a provincial governor's residence in southern Afghanistan, sources in Pakistan said today.

The details of damage to the governor's house in Kandahar were not known and the sources said governor Haji Gul Agha was not hurt.
Afghan diplomatic sources in southwest Pakistan also confirmed the incident but said the rocket did not cause any casualties.

Taliban elements were suspected to have been involved in the attack, the first in Kandahar, the former stronghold of the ousted Islamic extremists, although such attacks have taken place in eastern and central Afghanistan.

The sources said Taliban commanders hiding in southern Afghanistan have received letters from comrades in other parts of the country urging them to demonstrate their presence and resist foreign forces and their allies.

"It is time to rise against foreign occupation of our homeland. You should not remain inactive and show that your resistance against the foreign occupation has not ended," the letter says, according to the sources.

Yesterday the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press reported an attempted rocket attack on the governor's palace had missed its target, but officials contacted by AFP denied the incident had taken place.

-- posted by Steven_Russell

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-0...

Top 1589. Apr 14, 2002 2:39 PM

» Steven_Russell - rockets attack US at Khost airport Sun morn., Day 190

Khost Airport Attacked by Suspected Al-Qaeda, Taliban Militants: AIP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xinhuanet 2002-04-14 14:29:27

ISLAMABAD, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Unidentified militants Sunday morning fired three rockets at Khost airport in eastern Afghanistan, according to the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).

Quoting sources in Khost, the private news agency said the rockets were targeted at the U.S. troops stationed at the airport.

Khost Governor Mohammed Ibrahim told the AIP that the rockets did not hit the airport but fell near the airfields, which caused no damages.

The governor said the attack could be linked to local rivalries but did not rule out the involvement of Al-Qaeda or Taliban militants.

-- posted by Steven_Russell

Top 1590. Apr 15, 2002 7:15 PM

» BPyles - OBL/al-qaeda

Is OBL/al-qaeda thirst for the limelight so great they need to release a year old tape and claim credit for this act? To start claiming credit is too much like the terrorist cells in Palestine that cannot wait to go public.
--------------------------

Tuesday April 16, 5:19 AM , AFP

Al-Qaeda claims attack on Tunisia synagogue:

Suspected terror mastermind Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network claimed responsibility for the blast near a synagogue which killed 15 including ten German tourists last week in Tunisia, the Al-Qods Al-Arabi newspaper said.

The London-based Arab daily, which did not say how it obtained the claim, said "the Al-Qaeda netowrk of Sheikh Osama bin Laden claims the operation against the Djerba synagogue."

"This suicide operation is a response to the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," said a document, which the newspaper claimed was a genuine Al-Qaeda statement.

The statement said Tunisian Nizar bin Mohammed Nawar, aka Saif al-Din al-Tunsi carried out the operation, masterminded by the "the command of the Islamic army for the liberation of holy places."

"This suicide operation is also a reprisal for (Arab) governments' refusal to allow their peoples to launch jihad (holy war) against the Jews," said the text carried by the newspaper.

The daily also published the testament of the alleged kamizake, calling on members of his family do die as "martyrs".

Authorities in Tunisia maintain that the blast was an accident caused when a truck carrying natural gas went out of control and crashed into the wall surrounding the Griba synagogue on the island of Djerba, bursting into flames as a group of German tourists visited the site.

-- posted by BPyles

Top 1591. Apr 17, 2002 9:27 AM

» JenL_2 - French Arrest Reid-Linked Suspects

from 4/17 MSNBC.com:

5 held in Reid probe, French TV says

Suspects, seized around Paris, may be linked to shoe bomber

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS, April 17 — French security agents on Wednesday were questioning five people arrested in Paris and its nearby suburbs in connection with the investigation into shoe bomber Richard C. Reid, French television reported.

AGENTS FROM the DST, France’s internal security agency, arrested the suspects on Tuesday, said the report on LCI television. It could not immediately be confirmed.

Reid, 28, a British citizen, has been in U.S. custody since Dec. 22 when he allegedly attempted to ignite the explosives in his shoes during a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to Miami.

He was thwarted by flight crew and passengers and the jet was diverted to Boston.

He has pleaded innocent to nine charges that include attempting to murder the 197 passengers and crew.

The indictment against Reid said he’d received training from the al-Qaida terrorist network in Afghanistan.

....Jen

-- posted by JenL_2

Top 1592. Apr 17, 2002 12:13 PM

» BPyles - terrorism in France

Jen:
Hadn't seen that article about Reid. Guess France is working against terrorism, but would serve them well to not ignore this type:
------------------
Nearly 360 anti-Jewish attacks in France in April Wed Apr 17, 1:08 PM ET , AP

PARIS - Nearly 360 crimes against Jews and Jewish institutions in France have occurred this month, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said 70 people have been questioned and 16 jailed in connection with incidents that have taken place in the first two weeks of April. The wave of anti-Semitic attacks in France has coincided with intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence.

More than 60 percent of the acts involved anti-Jewish graffiti, while the number of people victimized by anti-Semitic slurs had also risen, the ministry said.

Law enforcement agencies also reported a dozen attempts to set synagogues and graves on fire.

Suspects in the attacks generally are young, with an average age of 20, and of "Maghreb origin," chiefly Arab youths from North African countries, the ministry said.

Anti-Jewish violence in France began increasing after Israeli-Palestinian fighting broke out in September 2000 and has mounted further since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.

A book published last month by a leading French anti-racism group and Jewish students chronicled about 400 recent attacks against Jews and their religious sites around the country. That number apparently does not include the latest Interior Ministry figures.

-- posted by BPyles

Top 1593. Apr 17, 2002 1:25 PM

» Rande - Re: terrorism in France

In response to message posted by BPyles:

Desecration of Jewish cemetaries, synagogue burnings, vandalism against businesses and homes, etc. Jew-haters are loving the odds, too. While France has Europe's largest single-country Jewish population at 700,000, it also has the largest Muslim population in Europe -- 5,000,000.

From CBS, April 14th:

The congregation of the synagogue in Marseilles was stunned two weeks ago when someone threw a fire bomb that burned it to the ground and destroyed the sacred Torah scroll.

Unidentified Man #1: (French spoken)

FENTON (translates): 'There are no words to describe it,' says this French Jew.

Unidentified Man #2: (French spoken)

FENTON (translates): 'We haven't seen this since the war,' says another.

-- posted by Rande