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| Two ’Portland Seven’ Brothers Plead Guilty |
| 2003-09-18 |
| Two brothers who were among seven people in Portland accused of aiding terrorists pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of conspiring to help al-Qaida and the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan. There you go again, pleading guilty. Didn’t you get the memo? Ahmed Bilal, 25, and his brother, Muhammad Bilal, 23, appeared before U.S. District Judge Robert Jones to formally enter their pleas. Jones had announced the plea agreement Wednesday. The brothers also pleaded guilty to firearms charges in exchange for having the main charge of conspiracy to levy war against the United States dismisssed. Both face up to 14 years in federal prison. They had been accused of traveling with four other men to China shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in a failed attempt to enter Afghanistan and fight with the Taliban against U.S. forces. They must be the only people who couldn’t get into Afghanistan. The plea agreement came less than a week after Attorney General John Ashcroft asked Jones to prevent the Portland defendants from viewing evidence used to obtain secret warrants that allowed the FBI to intercept conversations and bug the home of at least one of the seven defendants. Ashcroft cited national security concerns. The defense said it wanted to review the evidence before deciding whether to challenge the warrants on constitutional grounds. In the plea deal, Ahmed Bilal agreed to a term of 10 to 14 years while his younger brother agreed to eight to 14 years. I expect that they also agreed to spill their guts. One other Portland defendant has pleaded guilty. Three have pleaded innocent, and the seventh person charged last year is a fugitive. Jeffrey Leon Battle, Patrice Lumumba Ford and October Martinique Lewis are scheduled to go to trial Jan. 5. They have pleaded not guilty. At a recent hearing, Ford said he would never cooperate with the investigation and would not plead guilty. The seventh member of the group, Habis Abdulla al Saoub, is a fugitive the FBI thinks remains out of the United States. The agency is offering as much as $5 million for information leading to his arrest. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 I have notice that CAIR and AMC have been muzzled lately? If they're muzzled, it's because of their own choosing. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-9-18 3:11:29 PM |
| #1 I’m confused (still) didn’t CAIR and AMC declare that these were witch hunts on INNOCENT peace-loving Arabs? How many peace loving people do you know that would travel half-way around the world to join a war? Against you own COUNTRY? Doesn’t sound too peaceful to me. In their defense, the local Imam probably told them they were doing a good thing by killing infidels. These two are going to enjoy prison. I have notice that CAIR and AMC have been muzzled lately? |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-9-18 2:34:27 PM |