Weekly Terrorism Spotlight

Volume 1, Issue 4 (April 7)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Islamic student terror case nets guilty verdict

Recent arrest in Islamic terror conspiracy case nets guilty finding by a Florida federal jury.

Karim Moussaoui, guilty on federal weapons felony, is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

A federal court jury in Florida found Karim Moussaoui, 28, of Morocco, a third indicted person linked in a terrorist conspiracy case, guilty on a weapons possession charge Thursday, April 3.

The case placed Moussaoui with Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, as both were involved with firearms training at a Florida shooting range – a violation of Moussaoui’s conditional visa to be in America as a student.

Megahed is indicted along with Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 26, for terrorism conspiracy after local authorities in South Carolina arrested the two last August 4.

A Goose Creek, S.C., sheriff’s deputy stopped the two for speeding on U.S. 176, searched their car and discovered what bomb experts later determined to be explosives, or bomb-making material, police records state.

Moussaoui’s jury trial lasted most of last week, with federal prosecutors putting on evidence that included DVD footage from Shot Straight Range surveillance video, diagrams of the facility, photos, receipts and rental forms, attested to by subpoenaed witness James Patrick.

A second witness, Alan Brown, also verified photos taken at Shoot Straight: these of individuals verifying Megahed and Moussaoui as shooters of a Walther G22 rifle at the range.

Daniel O. Kelly, an arms expert, delivered a report on the Walther .22-calibre rifle, and a sample, along with sample ammunition, was part of the presentation for jurors.

The prosecution’s case also included passport and visa documentation that stated Moussaoui was expressly forbidden from handling firearms in any way while a Moroccan student studying at the University of South Florida.

Upon finding guilt, U.S. attorney Robert Monk moved for an order to remand Moussaoui to a federal jail pending sentencing set for July 14.

Federal Judge James D. Whittemore ordered for remand into the custody of U.S. Marshals and the federal bureau of prisons. Moussaoui is due for a bond release hearing this week on a defense motion to renew a bond release agreement pending sentencing.

Federal court records revealed recently a sealed indictment and warrant issued in Florida for Mohamed since his August 4 arrest.

A new charge against Mohamed notes grand jury findings he “taught and demonstrated the making and use of an explosive and destructive device,” recently before August 2007.

New information in that charge alleges Mohamed posted instructions on YouTube about rigging remote controlled bombs and converting electronic toy parts into detonators, with his stated hope, “to increase Muslim lives one more,” because suicide bombing would be avoided.

The terror conspiracy case received an April 28, 9:30 a.m., court date for an expected four-day jury trial, according to a March 31 term docket record for the south Florida federal court.

Court officials divided off Mohamed’s bomb-making charge, and a hearing on it is expected in May.

Evidence in Moussaoui’s case included video taken of the range activities July 19, 2007, days before Megahed’s road trip north with Mohamed during which they were stopped.

FBI Special Agent William Ortiz established Moussaoui and Megahed went to the range with a third trainee who Ortiz identified as Ahmed Ishtay.

“Moussaoui told New York FBI agents he did not see what type of weapon Megahed used on this visit to the range,” Ortiz said, adding he and Ishtay denied taking part.

“He claimed that [they] remained in the store browsing,” Ortiz said. “A surveillance video which Shoot Straight provided to the FBI shows Moussaoui and others entering that range on that date.”

Investigation into Megahed following the August 4 terror conspiracy case turned up photos of Moussaoui standing at a weapons-training firing lane, aiming a shoulder-fire weapon.

The photos showed Moussaoui with weapons training head gear, and the weapon was “consistent with” the Walther G22 rifle Shoot Straight range records showed Megahed as signing out for the practice session.

Moussaoui’s defense claim states he merely wanted a “souvenir photo” and not fire a weapon.

Attorneys for Megahed and Mohamed claim the explosives in their car were merely prankster items for making homemade fireworks.

Court records indicate the terror conspiracy case against them includes FBI lab reports about the found materials, PVC pipes, wires and alleged explosive mixtures.

Mohamed lawyers claim his YouTube video was not for training in bomb making; the postings are misrepresented and Mohamed was within his free speech rights to post what he did, they said.

According to published reports, Moussaoui family members complained that federal authorities waited beyond the scope of their investigation to arrest Moussaoui. Taking him in two days before his University of South Florida graduation.

Family members traveled from Morocco only to sit through a bond hearing. “They handcuffed him. They kept asking, ‘Where’s the gun?’ Hamou Moussaoui, the defendant’s father, said.

He added FBI agents promised money and a green card for information on the other two. “That conversation would not have taken place,” countered FBI spokesman David Couvertier.