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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

### United States Attorney
Southern District of New York

___________________________________________________________________

    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.