Homeland Security

DATE=05/19/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=NY/TERRORISM PLEA (L-O)

NUMBER=2-303401

BYLINE=JAMES DONAHOWER

DATELINE=NEW YORK

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The last of the six Yemeni-American men from the Buffalo, New York area who were accused last year of supporting terrorism, pleaded guilty on Monday. From New York, James Donahower reports, Mukhtar al-Bakri, who attended an al-Qaida terrorist training camp, made his plea in U-S federal court.

TEXT: Mukhtar al-Bakri was one of six Yemeni-Americans arrested in September of 2002 under a U-S statute prohibiting the support of known terrorist organizations. Mr. Al-Bakri, a naturalized U-S citizen who had been living in northwestern New York, was arrested in the Persian Gulf emirate of Bahrain.

One-by-one since January, the defendants have entered guilty pleas, admitting they trained at an al-Qaida-backed camp in Afghanistan in 2001, months before the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. The men all said they left early because they were disturbed by what they heard.

But prosecutors say e-mail evidence indicates that Mr. al-Bakri may have known of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in advance.

Mr. Al-Bakri, the youngest of the group, is expected to receive 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 10th. The other five were offered sentences of seven to 10 years as part of their plea bargains. In return, they agreed to cooperate in future terrorism investigations. If they had gone to trial, they would have faced sentences of up to 15 years. (Signed)

NEB/NYC/JAD/BJS/FC/PT