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Wadih El Hage

Osama bin Laden's personal secretary

Details
	Importance	High
	Location of Detention	Springfield, Missouri, United States1
	Capturing Authority	U.S. federal authorities
	Date of Capture	Sept. 16, 1998
	Location of Capture	New York, United States5
	Affiliation	Al-Qaeda
	Role	Aide3
	Supervisor	Osama bin Laden
	Affiliation	Taba Investments
	Full Given Name	Wadih El Hage
	Nationality	American4
	Nationality	Lebanese
	Alias(es)	Abu Abdullah al-Lubani3, Abd al Subbur3,4, Norman3,4, Wa'da Norman3,4, Wadia3, Abdus Sabbur2,3,4, The Manager3, Tanzanite3, Abu Abdullah Lubnani
	Alternate Transliteration	Wadi el Hage
	Date of Birth	July 25, 19604
	Place of Birth	Sidon, Lebanon4
	Height	5'7'4
	Weight	150 lbs4
	Gender	Male
	Description	Eyes: Brown. Hair: Brown. Wears beard and mustache.4
	Injuries/Illness	He has a deformity of his right arm.6
	History	Veteran of Afghanistan-Soviet civil war (1980-1989)6
	Charged with	False statements2
	Charging authority	United States
	In connection with	East African Embassy Bombings
	Charges issued	Sept. 21, 1998
	Case status	Convicted
	Sentence	Life imprisonment1
	Case resolved	May 21, 2001
Narrative and Notes
	Reliable	Born to Lebanese Christian parents. Moved to Kuwait at a young age. Attended University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette, La., in August 1978. Went to Afghanistan in 1983. Ultimately received degree in urban planning. Married April Brightsky Ray. Father of seven, all U.S. citizens. Lived in Tucson; Arlington, Texas; Pakistan. Moved to Sudan to work for Osama bin Laden for salary of $1,200/month. Moved to Nairobi in 1994. Traveled to Slovakia, Pakistan. Returned to United States in 1997. In court, his attorney contended he was not involved in the bombings. Made $800/month working for al-Qaeda in Sudan in early 1990s. Traveled to Azerbaijan at some point in early 1990s.6,7
Sources
1 U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons web site.
2 United States vs. Wadih El Hage. Complaint, September 1998.
3 United States vs. bin Laden, indictment, Nov. 4, 1998, and updates.
4 FBI Executive Summary, Status of embassy bombings investigation, Nov. 18, 1998. Posted online by PBS' 'Frontline' program.
5 He was arrested after giving testimony to a New York grand jury, so it is presumed he was detained there.
6 United States vs. Osama bin Laden et al, trial transcript, Day 1, Feb. 5, 2001.
7 Jamal al-Fadl testimony, United States vs. Osama bin Laden et al, trial transcript, Day 2, Feb. 6, 2001.
Photo: FBI
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Page maintained by John Lumpkin
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