Feds say eavesdropping program did not taint Va. jihad conviction

AP ^ | 7/21/06 | MATTHEW BARAKAT

[Valin]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 eavesdropping program did not compromise its prosecution of an American Muslim cleric convicted of soliciting treason and convincing some of his followers to join the Taliban, prosecutors said.

But defense lawyers are not satisfied with the government's claim, and on Friday a federal judge held a closed-door hearing and allowed attorneys for Ali al-Timimi some latitude to investigate the government's conduct.

Al-Timimi, of Fairfax, a U.S.-born Muslim who studied under prominent fundamentalist clerics in Saudi Arabia, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison last year for soliciting treason and urging some of his followers in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks take up arms in defense of the Taliban against U.S. troops.

Prosecutors said he was the leader of a "Virginia jihad network" who enjoyed rock star status among his followers, some of whom played paintball in the Virginia woods prior to Sept. 11 as a means of training for global holy war in Chechnya and other hot spots.

Four of al-Timimi's followers ended up traveling to Pakistan and receiving military training from a militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba. Some of the four admitted that their ultimate goal was to defend the Taliban, though none actually made it to Afghanistan.

[butternut_squash_bisque]

"...convicted and sentenced to life in prison last year for soliciting treason and urging some of his followers in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks take up arms in defense of the Taliban against U.S. troops."

IMO, that's an executable offense. That subhuman POS costs us all a lot of money in prison, especially for life.

Some People Just Need Killing™.

[yoe]

Muslims do not assimilate; have their own laws; many in the United States are fanatical about their ‘religion’. This American Muslim cleric, Ali al-Timimi, is a traitor to his country; these dangerous Muslim clerics should be rounded up and given a choice – either be an American or lose their freedom. Send him to a special prison where all inmates are Muslim [doing hard labor] – we don’t need him in a regular prison where he can poison other inmates.

[muawiyah]

Yeah, I didn't agree with the verdict in that case either. He should have been tried in a state court so he could be more readily executed.

[Valin]

Muslims do not assimilate; have their own laws

Absolutly correct! You might want to let Cpl. Mohammed N. Rahman know that he hasn't assimllated. Then you wtwo can talk about it when he gets done laughing in your face for saying such a stupid thing. That's assuming he doesn't kick your ass.

[Valin]

I recall reading that the conviction rate is higher in federal court.

[muawiyah]

The conviction rate in federal courts is probably higher than state courts, but in capital cases the Virginia record for sending folks like this to death row is much better.

We're #1!~ We're #1!~ We're #1!~ We're #1!~

[Valin]

We don't have death penalty here in Mn. :-(

We have some people(?) sitting in Oak Park Hights that are in dire need of having their breathing privileges revoked.