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Foundation for Defense of Democracies > In the Media > Wanted, But Kept Out
of Reach
Wanted, But Kept Out of Reach
Patricia Hurtado
Newsday
April 24, 2005
They are alleged to be some of the most dangerous men in the world. Federal
prosecutors charge them with having links to al-Qaida and participating in
or plotting terrorist attacks, from the deadly 1998 bombings of U.S.
embassies in Africa to a foiled scheme to bomb Los Angeles International
Airport during millennium celebrations.
Yet these nine men have never seen the inside of an American courtroom. All
are in custody in the United Kingdom, some since the late 1990s, and have
fought extradition to the United States in an extended game of
beat-the-clock.
One of the men, Ibrahim Eidarous, may never be prosecuted. Eidarous, who
American officials charge was an aide to Osama bin Laden, was indicted in
New York in connection with the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
He was arrested in Britain in July 1999, and ordered extradited to the U.S.
in December 2001.
But in July, after a diagnosis of advanced leukemia, he was quietly released
from a prison hospital and sent home. Federal officials in New York declined
comment on Eidarous' case.
Legal experts say these cases underscore the difficulties the U.S. faces in
attempting to swiftly bring to justice terror defendants outside the
country. Some defendants appear to have exploited the British legal system,
filing appeal after appeal. The judicial proceedings and jailings of these
men have cost millions.
One U.S. federal law enforcement official told a British newspaper that
terrorists are delighted with their U.K. hosts.
"They can't believe how easy it is to get the English legal system to tie
itself in knots for the benefit of the brothers engaged in violent jihad,"
the American official told the Sunday Telegraph.
Nearly four years have elapsed since Eidarous' co-defendants - Adel Abdel
Bary and Khalid al-Fawwaz - also were ordered extradited, and there is no
sign they will be sent to the U.S. any time soon. The decision on their
extradition rests with British Home Secretary Charles Clarke. He has
steadfastly declined comment.
Clarke also holds the key to determining extradition of Abu Doha, an
Algerian indicted in connection with the millennium plot to bomb Los Angeles
International Airport. Doha was arrested in February 2001 and is in the
high-security Belmarsh prison in south London.
And the numbers of those in the United Kingdom being sought by U.S.
prosecutors continues to grow. Last month, prosecutors in New York indicted
three more men linked to al-Qaida, alleging they targeted financial
institutions in New York and Washington, D.C., The three already are under
terror indictments in the U.K. British officials said last week they would
not extradite them until after cases there have concluded.
American lawyers say there are other hurdles. Before agreeing to an
extradition, Britain must be satisfied, under European human rights laws,
that the suspect will not face capital punishment, be detained without
trial, be prosecuted by a military tribunal or be transferred to another
country and tortured.
Lawyers say U.S. officials may not want to make such promises, especially if
other evidence could be developed later that the defendant committed capital
crimes.
"The point is we're coming at the equation from a different place than they
are," said Andrew McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted
Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and the first World Trade Center bombing case.
"Some of the things we think we can do because we're allowed to under
American law, they have a problem with," he said.
McCarthy, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies,
a Washington-based nonprofit that researches and analyzes terrorism, noted
that no prosecutor views extradition as a swift process because of
differences between British and American criminal law.
"British extradition is just painful," he said.
A new extradition treaty between the United States and United Kingdom, which
took effect in January 2004, was designed to speed up the process. It
removed the British home secretary's discretion to block an extradition
request on the grounds that it would be "wrong, unjust or oppressive."
Where a country previously had to produce "prima facie" evidence that there
is a criminal case before a citizen could be extradited from the United
Kingdom, the new law spares the U.S. of that requirement. Now the U.S.
simply has to provide "information" about the extradition request, and a
judge in the U.K. must be satisfied that the charges fall into a category of
an extraditable offense.
In the wake of these changes, U.S. Attorney David Kelley of the Southern
District of New York said recently that his office has withdrawn a prior
extradition request for Yassir al-Sirri, an alleged member of the
Egypt-based Islamic Group. Kelley said his office expects to submit a new
formal extradition request under the new treaty.
Al-Sirri, an Egyptian who operated the Islamic Observation Center in London,
was indicted in 2002 along with activist lawyer Lynne Stewart. Al-Sirri was
charged with conspiracy and providing material support to a foreign
terrorist organization.
Kelley, who previously was co-chief of the Manhattan office's terrorism unit
and was involved in the drafting of charges against most of these British
suspects, insisted in an interview that the process, while slow, must be
given time.
"We have to take a step back and respect the process of allowing our
partners in other countries to do their work," Kelley said. "While we're
eager to bring these people to justice, we have a great deal of respect for
their work."
One of the first terror suspects Kelley's office sought under the new treaty
was radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, 47, an Egyptian indicted last
May on charges he attempted to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon
and participated in a 1998 hostage-taking plot of tourists in Yemen.
Hamza was the imam at the now-shuttered Finsbury Park Mosque frequented by
Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker who pleaded guilty to terror
charges Friday, and Richard Reid, who attempted to detonate an explosive
device concealed in his shoe while aboard a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001.
But five months after his U.S. indictment, the British charged Hamza with
their own terror case. British authorities said extradition proceedings
would be adjourned until their case has concluded.
The cleric, meanwhile, has waged his own battle with his British captors.
Hamza has reportedly refused to bathe, to the consternation of inmates in
proximity to him in a high-security prison. In January, he forced
cancellation of a court appearance after he insisted that his toenails were
so long he could no longer walk or wear prison-issued shoes. The rescheduled
hearing cost British authorities nearly $20,000.
Despite the hurdles, U.S. authorities are resolved to build cases against
terrorism suspects held in other countries. New York Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelly, asked about the men accused of plotting to bomb financial
targets, stressed that U.S. indictments send terrorists an important
message.
"Whether or not they're extradited here is a matter of discussion ... but
it's important, both substantively and symbolically important," Kelly said.
"You come here and do this time of surveillance, we're not going to forget."
Will they ever see court?
Terrorism defendants under indictment in the Southern District of New York
who are in custody in the United Kingdom, pending extradition to the United
States.
1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa
Ibrahim Eidarous, believed to be an Egyptian national
Adel Abdel Bary, believed to be an Egyptian national
Charges say: Fingerprints of Eidarous and Abdel Bary were found on February
1998 fatwa issued by Osama bin Laden declaring war on American civilians.
Their fingerprints were also found on copies of documents claiming
responsibility for embassy bombings that were sent to news organizations
before the bombings occurred.
Khalid al-Fawwaz, a Saudi businessman based in London
Charges say: He ran the Advice and Reform Committee, which U.S. prosecutors
charge was the British arm of al-Qaida.
Status: All three ordered extradited to the U.S. by Britain's highest court
in December 2001. British home secretary must make decision.
1999 millennium
bombing plot
Abu Doha, an Algerian
Charges say: He conspired with admitted terrorist Ahmed Ressam to bomb Los
Angeles International Airport before New Year's Day 2000; also charged with
plot to establish terrorist training camp in Oregon and a 1998
hostage-taking in Yemen.
Status: British home secretary must make decision on extradition to U.S.
Plot to establish terrorist training camp
Abu Hamza al-Masri, an Egyptian national and imam of now-shuttered Finsbury
Park Mosque
Charges say: He attempted to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon
and assisted Islamic extremists who conducted deadly 1998 hostage-taking of
tourists in Yemen.
Status: Subsequently charged by British authorities. Expected to be
prosecuted there before he can be extradited to the U.S.
Plot to support terrorist
organization
Yassir al-Sirri, former head of London-based Islamic Observation Center.
Charges say: He provided material support to a terrorist organization, the
Islamic Group, and solicited people to engage in crimes of violence.
Status: Was already in British custody after being charged in fall 2001 with
conspiracy in assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud, commander of anti-Taliban
Northern Alliance. Prosecutors in U.S. say they withdrew a previous
extradition request for al-Sirri and expect to make a new request under the
new extradition treaty agreed to last year.
Plot to use WMD
on U.S. financial targets
Dhiren Barot, native of India, British national
Nadeem Tarmohammed, British national
Qaisar Shaffi, British national
Charges say: In plot ordered by bin Laden, the three conducted surveillance
in early 2001 of New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Center in New York,
Prudential Corporate Plaza in Newark and International Monetary Fund and
World Bank Washington, D.C., as targets for explosives
Status: All awaiting trial in Britain on terrorism-related charges. U.S.
officials probably will wait until British prosecution has concluded before
requesting extradition, federal law enforcement officials said.
Author: McCarthy, Andrew C.
Media Type: Mentions
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