DEFENDANT IN CONSPIRACY TO KILL U.S. MILITARY MEMBERS, PLEADS GUILTY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Yemeni National Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Kill U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan

Defendant Received Military-Type Training from al-Qaeda and then Went to Afghanistan with the Taliban to Fight against U.S. Forces

Ali Alvi al-Hamidi, 31, a Yemeni national, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to murder U.S. nationals abroad, conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda and receiving military-type training from al-Qaeda.  The guilty plea took place before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York.  At sentencing, al-Hamidi faces a maximum of life imprisonment.

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers of the Eastern District of New York and Assistant

Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., Field Office.

“Ali Alvi al-Hamidi went to the FATA to join al-Qaeda, received training from the terrorist organization, and later fought alongside the Taliban against coalition forces in Afghanistan,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin.  “With this plea, he will be held accountable for his terrorist activity, including conspiring to kill members of our military.  The highest priority of the National Security Division is countering terrorist threats, and we will continue to use all tools available to bring justice to those who seek to harm American servicemen and women who bravely risk their lives in defense of our nation.”

“Today’s significant guilty plea demonstrates this office’s unwavering commitment to bring to justice those who fight against U.S. forces or assist al-Qaeda and others in their efforts to kill Americans at home or abroad,” said U.S. Attorney Capers.

“As we witnessed today, those who support designated foreign terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and seek to harm people will be held fully accountable under the law,” said Assistant Director in Charge Abbate.  “On a daily basis, the FBI and its partners face the challenge of an ever evolving threat environment.  Through our partnerships, both international and domestic, the FBI continues to track down those who aid and abet terrorist groups and ensure that they are brought to justice.”

In early 2008, al-Hamidi traveled to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan to join al-Qaeda.  Once there, he received training from al-Qaeda in the use of weapons, explosives and detonators.  During late spring and summer of 2008, al-Hamidi moved on to Afghanistan with Taliban forces for the purpose of fighting members of the U.S. military and coalition forces stationed there.

The defendant also aided Bryant Neal Vinas, a U.S. citizen, in joining al-Qaeda.  Vinas traveled to Pakistan from Long Island, New York, hoping to join al-Qaeda and fight U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.  After participating in al-Qaeda’s military training program, Vinas and senior al-Qaeda external operations leadership devised a plan to conduct an attack on the Long Island Railroad in New York.  Vinas was arrested in 2008 before he could carry out this attack, and pleaded guilty in 2009 to conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization.  Vinas is currently incarcerated pending sentence.

Assistant Attorney General Carlin joined U.S. Attorney Capers in extending his grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zainab Ahmad, Michael P. Canty and Douglas M. Pravda of the Eastern District of New York, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Josh Parecki of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

3 PLEAD GUILTY TO HELPING PAKISTANI TALIBAN

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

Monday, September 12, 2011
“WASHINGTON – Three Pakistani citizens pleaded guilty today in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to provide material support to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, a designated foreign terrorist organization."

At a hearing today before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington, D.C., Irfan Ul Haq, 37; Qasim Ali, 32; and Zahid Yousaf, 43, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. At sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2011, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of their plea agreements, the defendants have agreed to a stipulated order of removal to Pakistan upon the completion of their criminal sentences.
“Today’s case underscores the threat posed by human smuggling networks that facilitate terrorist travel,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “I thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who were responsible for this successful investigation.”
“These defendants sought to smuggle someone they believed to be a member of a terrorist organization from halfway around the world into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “For financial profit, they were willing to jeopardize the safety and security of the American people. Human smuggling operations pose a serious risk to our national security, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners at home and abroad to combat this dangerous threat.”
“These criminals were willing to use their human smuggling network to help a terrorist slip across our border without any regard for the consequences,” said U.S Attorney Machen. “Ten years after 9/11, this case reminds us that we must remain aggressive to stop terrorists from infiltrating our homeland and harming our nation.”
“ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents will continue to use every available resource to protect the American public from terrorist organizations and individuals who support them,” said ICE Director Morton. “Today’s announcement demonstrates our international resolve to ensuring that our nation is safer and more secure. I applaud the outstanding work conducted by our HSI attaché office in Ecuador who led this extensive investigation. I would also like to commend our HSI office in Atlanta, along with our law enforcement partners in the United States and Ecuador, who assisted us in this case.”
“These criminals said they didn’t care if the men they smuggled ‘swept floors or blow up’ something. As long as they got paid, they did not care if innocent people would be killed in a potential terrorist attack,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Gillies. “The FBI’s number one priority is counterterrorism and we will continue to work with our partners to protect the U.S. and its people from harm.”
Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf were arrested in Miami on March 13, 2011, on an indictment filed in the District of Columbia charging them with one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. Based on the defendants’ guilty pleas to terrorism conspiracy charges, the government will dismiss at the sentencing hearing the charges of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling against the defendants.
Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf admitted that between Jan. 3, 2011, and March 10, 2011, they conspired to provide material support to the TTP in the form of false documentation and identification, knowing that the TTP engages in terrorist activity and terrorism. According to court documents, Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf conducted a human smuggling operation in Quito, Ecuador, that attempted to smuggle an individual they believed to be a member of the TTP from Pakistan into the United States. The TTP was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department on Sept. 1, 2010.
Court documents indicate that law enforcement agents directed confidential sources to ask the defendants, who were residing in Ecuador at the time, for their assistance in smuggling a fictitious person from Pakistan to the United States. Over the course of the ensuing negotiations, the defendants were made aware that the person to be smuggled was a member of the TTP who was blacklisted in Pakistan.
According to the court documents, the defendants agreed to move this person from Pakistan into the United States, despite his purported affiliation with the TTP. Ul Haq, according to the court documents, told the confidential sources that it was “not their concern” what the men “want to do in the United States – hard labor, sweep floor, wash dishes in a hotel, or blow up. That will be up to them.” The defendants accepted payment from the confidential sources for the smuggling operation and procured a false Pakistani passport for the purported TTP member.
The investigation was conducted by the HSI attaché office in Quito, Ecuador, with the HSI office in Atlanta, the Miami Division of the FBI and the Ecuadorian National Police.
The investigation was conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.”