Posted on 08/31/2006 6:39:57 PM PDT by Libloather
Disguises OK'd for terror trial witnesses
By Mike Robinson
Associated Press
Thursday, August 31, 2006 4:42 PM CDT
CHICAGO -- Two Israeli security agents expected to testify at the trial of two men accused of fundraising for the Palestinian militant group Hamas may wear disguises and use aliases on the witness stand, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The courtroom will be cleared of everyone but the jury, attorneys, the defendants and their families while the Israeli agents testify, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve ruled.
The ruling came in the case of Muhammad Salah, 53, of suburban Bridgeview and Abdelhaleem Ashquar, 48, of Alexandria, Va., both accused of funneling money to Hamas to pay for murders, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism aimed at the Israeli government.
Their trial on racketeering conspiracy and other charges is due to get under way before St. Eve on Oct. 12.
In her order, St. Eve agreed with federal prosecutors who have said extraordinary precautions must be taken to protect the identities of the two agents against disclosure and possible retaliation by Hamas.
"Because the identities of these Israel Security Agency agents remain classified, the court grants the government's request to allow them to testify using their pseudonyms that they use in connection with their work," St. Eve said.
"Furthermore, even if their true identities were not classified, the safety concerns faced by these witnesses justify their use of pseudonyms when testifying," said St. Eve, herself a former federal prosecutor.
Messages were left Tuesday evening on answering machines at the law offices of Salah attorney Michael E. Deutsch of Chicago and William Moffitt of Reston, Va., who had objected to the high degree of secrecy.
The agents were among those who questioned Salah after he was arrested in Israel in 1993. Police found $97,000 in cash in his East Jerusalem hotel room and claimed he was delivering the money to Hamas terrorists.
He served almost five years in Israeli prisons on the charge.
Deutsch had argued that without knowing the true identities of the agents it would be impossible to know if they were who they claimed to be.
But St. Eve said Salah would be able to tell if they were the men who questioned him. His conviction in Israel was based on a number of statements he made. He says the statements were tortured out of him.
The two agents took the witness stand in a closed courtroom before St. Eve in April and were allowed then to use their aliases but not disguises.
Besides the disguises, there will be another difference this time around.
St. Eve said that while the public would be barred from the courtroom while the two agents are on the stand, anyone would be free watch the proceedings on a live video feed from another courtroom.
The government had suggested an audio feed. St. Eve said the video feed would be less restrictive. She made clear that the agents' faces would not be shown.
"The procedure will give the public necessary assurances of fairness," St. Eve said. She also said most of the trial will be open to the public.
As for the disguises, she said "the witnesses may not, for example, wear dark glasses that would interfere with the jury's ability to assess their credibility." She also ruled out the use of "heavy latex molds" that Deutsch had said could make the agents totally unrecognizable.
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