http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Millennium%20Terror
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 � Last updated 3:57 p.m. PT Court filing outlines extent of Ressam's cooperation By GENE JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SEATTLE -- Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium, gave investigators detailed information on more than 100 potential terrorists in interviews that stretched over two years, according to court documents filed in anticipation of his sentencing this month. "Among the individuals he discussed were people whose names meant nothing to us when first heard, but were later identified as significant players in al-Qaida and other terrorist networks," Ressam's lawyers wrote in outlining his cooperation. Ressam was caught smuggling a trunkload of bomb-making materials into the United States through Port Angeles in December 1999. He was convicted in April 2001 of nine charges, including terrorist conspiracy. Facing as much as 130 years in prison, he cut a deal with the Justice Department and began cooperating with authorities in exchange for a 27-year prison sentence. >From May 10, 2001, to April 27, 2003, Ressam spent more than 200 hours speaking with authorities about terrorist networks and people with potential connections to them. He also spent 65 hours testifying during depositions or trials, his lawyers wrote. Among the topics Ressam covered were training camps in Afghanistan, terrorist recruitment, training, cell locations, general targets, the ideology of the movements, weapons and technology, explosives making, chemicals used in constructing explosives and the use of safe houses. Much of the information Ressam provided remains secret. The documents filed publicly in U.S. District Court in Seattle this week offer merely an outline of his cooperation; a more detailed summary, along with the report of a Boston psychiatrist who specializes in the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners, was filed under seal. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday wrote that they planned to review the detailed summary and decide by April 25 what sections, if any, should be made public. Ressam's sentencing is scheduled for April 27. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, who will impose sentence, has described Ressam's assistance as "startlingly helpful." Ressam's testimony helped convict Mokhtar Haouari of supplying fake identification and cash for the millennium bomb plot. Haouari was sentenced in New York to 24 years in prison. He also provided information about Haydar Abu Doha, an Algerian national who is in British custody awaiting extradition to the United States, where he is charged with orchestrating the plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport. In December 2002, Ressam met with German justice officials who questioned him about al-Qaida for the trial of a Moroccan charged with supporting the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist hijackers. The Moroccan, Mounir el Motassadeq, was convicted in February 2003 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Ressam also spoke with terrorism investigators from Canada, Italy, Spain and Great Britain, his lawyers wrote. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
