Posted on 08/21/2004 8:09:36 AM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
CROMWELL, Conn. -- A Connecticut nuclear engineer is under investigation in a federal terrorism probe, but denies allegations he offered support to a militant Islamic Web site and said he's being targeted because he is Muslim.
Syed R. Maswood, 41, confirmed that he is the unnamed Connecticut resident mentioned last week in a federal affidavit charging a British national with supporting terrorism. Federal agents raided Maswood's home March 17, seizing computer equipment and financial records, he said. Investigators discovered his e-mail address among files used to maintain a Web site that funneled money and equipment to terrorists, according to the affidavit, which was unsealed Friday in New Haven as part of an international terrorism probe.
From his home, Maswood runs North American Technical Services, which exports nuclear detection instruments, water treatment devices and environmental equipment to Middle East and Asian governments. Maswood told NBC 30 Connecticut News that he has not been charged in the case but said he has been detained and searched three times while traveling on business recently. He said officials have told him he's on a U.S. no-fly list.
Maswood once strongly supported President George W. Bush and still keeps in his living room a photograph of the president. He also has a photo of his preteen daughter meeting Vice President Dick Cheney and has donated to several Republican campaigns.
"I believe in this country," said Maswood, a Bangladesh immigrant who became an American citizen in 1997. "I believe in the system. I believe in the fairness of the law. I want to know, what did I do wrong?"
U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor would not confirm that Maswood is the Connecticut resident mentioned in the affidavit.
"We go out of our way in any case not to identify anybody until they've been charged," O'Connor said. "Unfortunately, there's only one way to search a house and that's in public."
Federal agents last week charged British computer specialist Babar Ahmad with running a fund-raising site for Islamic militants. While dissecting Ahmad's computer files, investigators say they discovered an e-mail seeking help getting money to Islamic rebels in Chechnya. They traced that e-mail to Maswood. The married father of three said he never offered to aid Chechen rebel leaders but said he may have asked how he could help the humanitarian effort in the area.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents also discovered that Maswood donated more than $10,000 to the Benevolence International Foundation, an Illinois-based charity accused of supporting terrorism. But Maswood said the charity is one of many he has supported for humanitarian purposes, including Christian relief efforts. He said investigators seized evidence of those donations during the raid. Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Benevolence International had been given IRS tax-exempt status.
"If you're claiming that BIF was a terrorist organization, why did the IRS issue them a tax ID number and allow them to solicit donations from all over the country?" Maswood said.
A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last week that investigators are poring over the e-mail addresses uncovered in the Ahmad case, trying to determine who wanted to provide humanitarian aid and who wanted to support terrorism.
"We have known Sayed as a very charitable person," said Ahmad Tansheet of the Muslim Civil Rights Center in Illinois. "His only crime was to give charity to an Islamic organization."
Maswood said the investigation has made him seem guilty to many in the small Hartford suburb. Neighbors gawked as agents searched his home, he said. He can imagine what's going through their minds.
"I come from a very oppressive country," said Maswood's wife, Awatef, who was born in Tunisia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. "I used to come back to the U.S. and feel relief. I'm home. This is a free country. What kind of America is this?"
While federal investigators did not name Maswood in the affidavit, they confirmed that a search warrant was executed in Cromwell. In a town of 13,000 people, Maswood said, that effectively identified him. Maswood, who says he's had difficulties doing business through the government since Sept. 11, 2001, has sent O'Connor several letters asserting his innocence and characterizing the probe as a witch hunt.
"It's character assassination," he said. "You label them, you destroy their reputation, then later on you may or may not find something."
I posted something about this guy when the charges first were publicized (search on Maswood on FR).
Apologies on the date of this one, but I'm posting again because there are much newer updates, but I can't post them on Free Republic.
If you are interested in this case, do a Google "News" search using the term "Maswood". For instance, there is a new article titled "Donor Fears Hurt Muslim Charities" in the Hartford Courant today. The online version is unbelievable if you know what I mean.
old story rewritten in unpostable Hartford Courant ping
Perfectly fine.
There are a few businesses in the Hartford Area that have pictures of Yassir Arafat hanging in them.
"Maswood once strongly supported President George W. Bush and still keeps in his living room a photograph of the president. He also has a photo of his preteen daughter meeting Vice President Dick Cheney and has donated to several Republican campaigns.
Very interesting. He may wish to call in his chips at some point. Maybe the Bush administration can help him out of this little jam.
Bump!
Thanks for the ping. Will ping the CT list here...
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
"I come from a very oppressive country," said Maswood's wife, Awatef, who was born in Tunisia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. "I used to come back to the U.S. and feel relief. I'm home. This is a free country. What kind of America is this?"
The kind eight years of the Rat party in the white house allowed Bin Laden to create on September 11, 2001.
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