6 January 1999
Source: Fax from the US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
See related files: http://jya.com/alqfiles.htm
United States Attorney
Southern District of New York
_____________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE JANUARY 6, 1999 MARVIN SMILON, HERBERT HADAD PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE (212) 637-2600 FBI JOSEPH A. VALIQUETTE (212) 384-2715 JAMES M. MARGOLIN (212) 384-2720 PRESS RELEASE MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and LEWIS D. SCHILIRO, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York FBI Office, announced that MAMDOUH MAHMUD SALIM was indicted today in Manhattan federal court for conspiring to kill American nationals outside of the United States. The first count of the Indictment charges that SALIM, along with co-defendants USAMA BIN LADEN, MUHAMMAD ATEF, WADIH EL HAGE, FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-'OWHALI, MUSTAFA FADHIL, KHALFAN KHAMIS MOHAMED, AHMED KHALFAN GHAILANI, FAHAD MOHAMED ALLY MSALAM, and SHEIKH AHMED SALIM SWEDAN acted together with other members of "al Qaeda," a worldwide terrorist organization led by BIN LADEN, in a conspiracy to murder United States nationals. The objectives of this international terrorist conspiracy allegedly included: killing members of the American military stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia; killing United States nationals employed at the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and concealing the activities of the co-conspirators by, among other things establishing front companies, providing false identity and travel documents, engaging in coded correspondence and providing false information to the authorities in various countries. As part of his participation in the conspiracy to murder United States nationals, the Indictment charges that SALIM committed various overt acts. Specifically, according to the Indictment, SALIM: (a) served, along with others on the governing committee of al Qaeda, the terrorist organization led by BIN LADEN; (b) engaged in financial transactions, including the purchase of electronics and communication equipment on behalf of al Qaeda; (c) issued numerous fatwahs (religious opinions) justifying unity between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims to attack the common enemy, the United States, permitting the murder of "infidels,"eve if attack on such persons would kill "innocent" third parties, and explaining that United States forces should not be present in Arab lands; and (d) was involved in attempts to obtain the components for nuclear weapons. SALIM was first arrested in Germany on September 16, 1998, after an arrest warrant was issued in the United States. He was ordered extradited to the United States in December 1998. On December 20, l998, German officials handed SALIM over to the FBI, which brought him to New York. Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO said the investigation of this case is being conducted by the Joint Terrorist Task Force composed of the FBI, the New York City Police Department, the United States Department of State, the United States Secret Service, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the New York State Police and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. SALIM faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Assistant United States Attorneys PATRICK J. FITZGERALD, KENNETH M. KARAS and MICHAEL J. GARCIA are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 99-03 ### ___________________________________________________________________ [End]