Al-Arian Trial Turns To Co-Defendant
Published: Oct 12, 2005
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TAMPA - The day after a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad turned a machine gun on a bus in Jerusalem, killing two children and wounding 35, someone posted a message on an Islamic Jihad Web site.
"Your blood is precious to our hearts and signifies further victory, dignity and pride," it read. "So to you is the loftiest greeting. Long live Palestine, Muslim, Arab, free from the sea to the river. Glory and eternity to our sacred martyrs."
The person who posted the Nov. 5, 2001, message gave abuobaidah@hohmail.comas an e-mail address, according to prosecution evidence in the Sami Al-Arian terror-support trial Tuesday. The government says that address was a typographical error, and should have read abuobaidah@ hotmail.com, an address used by Al-Arian co-defendant Hatim Naji Fariz, who goes by the nickname Abu Obaidah.
The poster described himself as "Your brother, Abu Obaidah. Expelled from beloved Palestine and a resident of the United States," according to a government translation of the posting.
The posting came after a bus attack in the French Hill area of Jerusalem, which killed a 16-year-old American girl, Shoshana Ben-Yishai, and wounded another American, Shlomo Kaye, 15.
According to a stipulation agreed on by attorneys in the case, the attack was carried out by Hatem Yahin Aeish Alshweiki.
The posting read in part, "The Hatem of today offers all that he owns for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine," which the government contends was a reference to the French Hill attacker. However, Fariz often spelled his first name Hatem.
FBI Agent Russell Hayes spent much of Tuesday introducing evidence taken from Islamic Jihad Web sites, such as Qudsway.com, Aljihadi.org and Jihadonline.org. Hayes also discussed other computer evidence, such as e-mails and e-mail addresses.
On Jan. 5, 2003, about a month before Fariz and Al-Arian were indicted, Salah Abu Hassanein, the recipient of many money transfers from Fariz, sent Fariz a copy of an e-mail with an internal memo from the Islamic Jihad, according to evidence introduced Tuesday.
