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Justice Department Indicts Three Men on Terrorism Charges

21 February 2006

All charged with "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts" against Americans abroad

By David Anthony Denny
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident, all living in Ohio, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on terrorism charges, the Justice Department says.

According to a Justice Department statement released February 21, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, U.S. citizens, and Wassim Mazloum, a legal permanent resident, are charged with "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts against Americans overseas" and with "providing material support to terrorists." 

Amawi, who holds dual citizenship in Jordan, also is charged separately with distributing information regarding explosives and two counts of making verbal threats against President Bush, according to the statement. 

The three men are currently in custody, according to the Justice Department statement, and were scheduled to appear in federal courts in Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio, the afternoon of February 21.

The indictment states that the defendants attempted to further their common goal of waging violent "holy war" against U.S. and coalition soldiers in Iraq and in other countries.

The activities for which they were arrested include carrying out jihad training, receiving and providing instructions to how to make and use explosives and construct suicide bomb vests, conspiring to raise money to finance training and violent jihad activities and attempting to acquire and deliver explosives and computers to others engaged in violent jihad in the Middle East.

The most serious charges, conspiracy to kill, could result in life in prison.  The maximum sentence for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists is 15 years imprisonment.  The maximum sentence for distributing information regarding explosives is 20 years in prison and the charges of making verbal threats against the president of the United States carry a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment each.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a prepared statement, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said, "We cannot wait until an attack happens.  We will continue to use our criminal laws as Congress intended, to charge individuals once they conspire to provide support to terrorism or conspire to kill abroad."

The defendants, Gonzales said, have been engaging in weapons training, sympathizing with terrorists and seeking to provide help to kill people abroad, including U.S. troops -- all while living in the United States. 

He further said that Amawi especially was focused on improvised explosive devices, a principal cause of U.S. casualties in Iraq.

"Individuals who aid terrorists from within our borders threaten the safety of all Americans," Gonzales said.  This case, he said, points out the "need for continued vigilance in the war on terrorism."

The Justice Department statement and Gonzales’ prepared statement are available on the department Web site.

For additional information on U.S. policy, see Response to Terrorism.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)