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Home Front: WoT |
Al-Moayad boasted of ties to Binny |
2005-02-02 |
![]() Defense lawyers said al-Moayad made idle boasts to wheedle millions of dollars from an FBI informant posing as a militant Islamist. The informant had proposed giving al-Moayad $2.5 million to divide between terror groups and al-Moayad's Yemeni charities. On the tape, al-Moayad describes his relationship with bin Laden as limited to the days before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. "I sat with him before all these crises happened - a long time ago," al-Moayad said in Arabic. But the Yemeni cleric went on to describe ongoing relationships with a Hamas leader and other militants. He also talked of his support for the families of Islamic "martyrs." Defense lawyers said Hamas is a legal group in Arab countries and al-Moayad's expressions of solidarity never rose to the level of supporting or conspiring to support terrorism, the crimes with which he is charged. "Arabic culture is on trial," al-Moayad attorney William Goodman said outside the courtroom. "Everybody knows somebody in Hamas who's living in their countries. Does that mean you're giving them material support? No." Al-Moayad and his |
Posted by:Dan Darling |