Counterterrorism Blog

In what can only be described as a major victory for the U.S. Department of Justice, a Massachusetts jury today returned guilty verdicts on seven of eight criminal charges filed against three defendants in federal district court--convicting Emaddedine Muntasser, Muhamed Mubayyid, and Samir al-Monla of tax code violations, making false statements, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The convictions on these charges carry with them possible prison terms and thousands of dollars in fines. The resounding convictions appear to fly in the face of some critics who have suggested--in the wake of derailed trials in Idaho, Florida, and Texas--that the Justice Department is unable to successfully prosecute cases of suspected terrorist financiers.

During the course of their lengthy investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston retained me as a consultant and expert witness in the Muntasser case, and I was asked to help review hundreds of pages of evidence gathered by the FBI. In my opinion, the evidence seized by the U.S. government in this case offers clear and unprecedented insight into how various individuals and charitable organizations have used the United States as a base to raise money and recruit on behalf of Makhtab-e-Khidamat, Al-Gama`at al-Islamiyya, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA), Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and other Islamic extremist groups. In the wake of today's convictions, the NEFA Foundation is now making available excerpts from my expert report filed in the case. Among the highlights from that report:

- "The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has provided me with an evidentiary document which appears to be the minutes of a meeting that took place on April 23, 1995 between several individuals, who I believe included Emaddedine Muntasser (a.k.a. Abu Abdelrahman), Mohamad Akra (a.k.a. Abu Idris), and Mohammad Chehade (a.k.a. Abu Fayez). The meeting appears to be a conference of senior U.S.-based representatives of Makhtab-e-Khidamat. The minutes reflect a clear acknowledgment of events in Pakistan, noting that “guest homes, the Islamic Center, [and the] Peshawar office [have been] closed due to the situation.” There are also several references to “changing the name of the Services Office”, creating a “separate structure”, and attempting to “frame… general policies (some written and some understood) for the work in America.” In line with these stated objectives, the corporate entity known as “Care International” seems little more than a flimsy public cover for the continuing fundraising and recruitment activities of Makhtab-e-Khidamat al-Mujahideen. The cover was so flimsy that the organization kept the same officers and a virtually identical newsletter, continued to advertise its association with Makhtab-e-Khidamat founder Shaykh Abdullah Azzam, and even—in some cases—used the exact same mailing address as Al-Kifah.

- "Care’s notorious, now-defunct newsletter, known as “Al-Hussam” (“the Sword”), described itself as an exclusive, authentic source of information about “Jihad action” . In the Spring of 1993, the masthead of Al-Hussam identified it intermittently as both the official newsletter of Care International and the Al-Kifah Refugee Center. All copies of the printed newsletter bore the official Al-Kifah logo... Another of the Al-Hussam newsletters provided to me, dated March 5, 1993, includes an article titled “Boston offers more martyrs”, which relates the story of Morabit Yahya (a.k.a. “Al Layth Abou Al Layth”, a 26-year old immigrant to the U.S. from Morocco who first arrived in 1990 and worked at a local Dunkin Donuts. While living in Boston, Yahya “met some [people] who loved and worked to support Jihad. He joined the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in 1991, where he went to training camps and later fought different battles.” The article further identified the young Moroccan-American as at least the fourth known recruit from the Boston area who was killed fighting alongside the mujahideen in Afghanistan."

- "...so much activity was taking place specifically at the Care/Al-Kifah office in Boston in support of the jihad in Bosnia-Herzegovina that the Bosnian-Muslim military intelligence service mistakenly believed that the top American Al-Kifah contact for the Arab mujahideen—Abdul Wali Zindani—was actually located in Boston and not Brooklyn. The reasons for this oversight by the Bosnian army are much clearer in the context of the numerous evidentiary documents provided to me by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston which indicate significant financial transfers, totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, between Care International’s office in Boston and the “Human Services Office” (a.k.a. the Al-Kifah Refugee Center) regional headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia—including Exhibits CICR03899, CICR03623, CICR03624, CICR03626, CICR03627, CICR03630, CICR03631, CICR03634, CICR03635, CICR03641, and CICR03642. With the Al-Kifah Refugee Center office in Brooklyn closed down by the spring of 1993 (only one year into the war in the Balkans), the Boston branch became the de-facto U.S. hub of recruitment and financing activities by Makhtab-e-Khidamat in support of the jihad in Bosnia-Herzegovina."

- "I have been provided with evidentiary documents by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston which appear to be copies of a letter addressed to [Afghan warlord] Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on behalf of the Al-Kifah Refugee Center office in Boston. The letter makes mention of two previous face-to-face meetings, including one with Saifur Rahman Halimi (previously cited in this report as Hekmatyar’s representative in the West) and another that apparently took place in the context of Hekmatyar’s aforementioned conference with Arab mujahideen at Char Asyab near Kabul. According to the letter: “To his presence the virtuous brother and prince, engineer Kalb Al-Deen Hikmatyar, May God protect him… We, those who love you, from the Boston Office write to you asking for your direction for us in matters concerning serving the Jihad for the cause of Allah. As you know we have vowed our support through your deputy, brother Saif Al-Rahman Haleemy, in New York two years ago. And we have renewed this vow to you when I met you in Shihar Siab two months ago. Upon my return it was suggested that we fold under their brigade and join under their banner and subjugating our policies and our educational and financial programs to how you see fit. They told us this is what you would like and want. If this is the case and you wish us to do so then we wish you to write about that at the bottom of this page and we are then God willing to abide by your commands and we are forever in the fold of obedience and military.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has also provided me with an evidentiary document which appears to be the minutes of a meeting that took place on April 23, 1995 between several individuals, who I believe included Emaddedine Muntasser (a.k.a. Abu Abdelrahman), Mohamad Akra (a.k.a. Abu Idris), and Mohammad Chehade (a.k.a. Abu Fayez). During the meeting, the participants refer to themselves as a “brigade” or “battalion”, which I interpret as a reference to the overall franchise unit of Makhtab-e-Khidamat operating in the United States."

- "The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has provided me with numerous evidentiary documents that, taken as a whole, indicate a close relationship between Care International and the Global Relief Foundation (GRF) based primarily upon their mutual association with Makhtab-e-Khidamat. These documents include the transcripts of wiretaps involving conversations between representatives of Care International and GRF, financial documents, and—perhaps none more explicitly—the minutes of an April 1995 sit-down conference involving corporate officers from both groups, which aimed to “specify the general provisions, draw various policies for the activity in America and Canada, in accordance with the directions and recommendations of” the leadership of the “Battalion.” At least some of those in attendance were in favor of GRF and Care merging their operations: “There is no need for us to stay separate… I met with Imad [Muntasser] and Mohammad [Chehade] and found acceptance. We pray the Lord may unite us and remove hatred from within us.” An individual under the name “Abu Abdulrahman” (presumably Emaddedine Muntasser) responded, “After the latest developments - we sought a meeting with the brothers - how to [establish] the relationship and coordinating with the battalion - some brothers are nervous in Boston. There can be more coordination among us if we agree on some of the issues - Afghanistan has priority.” Several Care International officers appear to have “defended independence”, expressing a “fear” of merging with GRF and being swallowed in the morass of an admittedly larger organization: “we will loose more… control.” Other participants pushed hard for a compromise to avoid the “severely short sighted” outcome of having two competing Makhtab-e-Khidamat franchises trying to sustain themselves on the same small piece of local turf: “Boston cannot accommodate two jobs i.e. CARE and GRF.”"