Feds want terror suspect's bail revoked

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The government asked a judge Thursday to revoke bail for one of six men accused of attending an al-Qaida training camp in the months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, citing new evidence that the suspect kept secret a private meeting with Osama bin Laden.

Sahim Alwan, the only one of the men granted bail in October, also allegedly urged a co-defendant to lie to investigators about the trip. Prosecutors say his bail should be revoked because of new information contained in the co-defendant's plea agreement from this month.

On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder Jr. reserved judgment on whether to revoke bail and ordered that the co-defendant, Faysal Galab, appear before him on Feb. 7 for questioning.

"I want Mr. Alwan to be able to see and hear Mr. Galab, and I want to be able to see and hear Mr. Galab before I make this decision," the judge said.

In earlier ordering Alwan's release on $600,000 bond, Schroeder found that Alwan had apparently "disclaimed any continued participation in the activities of al-Qaida when he managed to extricate himself" from the camp in spring 2001.

Authorities said Alwan feigned an ankle injury and left the Afghanistan camp, where he and the others heard bin Laden speak of "a fight against Americans."

Schroeder also noted that Alwan cooperated with the FBI when he was arrested days after the first anniversary of the attacks.

Alwan, 30; Galab, 26; Yahya Goba, 25; Yasein Taher, 25; Shafal Mosed, 24; and Mukhtar al-Bakri, 22, all from the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna, were charged with violating a 1996 law that prohibits giving money, weapons or other support to foreign terrorist organizations.

Alwan remains jailed because his lawyers and the government have been unable to agree on the terms of his release.

On Thursday, the government alleged Alwan withheld information about the bin Laden meeting from the FBI and told Galab to lie to investigators when asked about the trip.

Galab, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to supporting al-Qaida, allegedly told investigators that Alwan said he was taken to meet bin Laden after leaving the camp, while waiting to return home.

In arguing for bail Thursday, Alwan's attorney, James Harrington, said his client answered every question posed by investigators, but was not asked about the bin Laden meeting and was afraid to volunteer the information.

"Despite the pressure of a face-to-face meeting with one of the most powerful and negatively influential men in the world, Mr. Alwan continued home from Afghanistan and was not swayed," Harrington wrote in court papers.

In documents filed last week, Alwan said he was "nervous and afraid" during the meeting, and changed the subject when the al-Qaida leader asked whether young American men were willing to go on suicide missions.

Also Thursday, Harrington expressed concern that the jury pool was becoming "polluted" by statements made by President Bush and others regarding the arrest of Alwan and his co-defendants.

In Tuesday's State of the Union speech, Bush said, "We have broken al-Qaida cells in Hamburg, Milan, Madrid, London, Paris, as well as Buffalo, N.Y."

Harrington noted that the New York defendants are accused only of attending the al-Qaida camp, not of being members of al-Qaida or plotting terrorist acts.