Human Events Online
An indictment returned by a federal grand jury on November 19 alleges that a Hizballah "member, fighter, recruiter and fundraiser" snuck across the Mexican border into the United States in 2001, and then conspired here in the U.S. to "provide material support" to Hizballah, which is designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. The indictment was unsealed January 15.
Nabih Ayad, lawyer for the accused man, Mahmoud Kourani, told the Detroit Free Press that the charges against his client were wrong. There is "no shred of evidence" Kourani has any ties to Hizballah, said Ayad. "This is another ploy by the government to attack a vulnerable community after 9/11," he told the Free Press after his client pleaded not guilty. "They're going after someone because of his blood relations," he said. "That's unconstitutional. It's guilt by association."
The indictment alleges that Kourani's brother "was the Hizballah Chief of Military Security for Southern Lebanon."
"Hizballah's goals," the indictment says, "include the eradication of 'western imperialism' from the Middle East represented in part by the United States ('the Great Satan') and Israel ('the little Satan'). Hizballah has conducted numerous high profile terrorist attacks including the abduction, torture, and murder of U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins from February 17, 1988 through July 1989."
Posted by Suzanne at January 23, 2004