SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 30– Delowar Mohammed
Hossain is on trial for
attempted material support to
the Taliban. The trial began
on September 29, weeks after
the Taliban again took over
Kabul in Afghanistan. From the
July 2019 Complaint:
HOSSAIN:
"Pakistan is a country that
support jihad... Pakistan has
a good relationship with the
Taliban of Afghanistan. If we
look over there once we go
there..."
Then
Hossain was arrested at JFK
airport. He has been out on
home detention and on the eve
of trial asked to delay it
based on racial disparities in
the jury, because inactive
voters were removed from the
jury pool. Inner City Press
will be reporting on the
trial. On September 29
it began, not without
difficulty, with the opening
statements, live
tweeting them here
(podcast here,
vlog
I)
On
September 30, Inner City Press
was told it could not be in
the courtroom to see
Cooperating Witness Number 1,
but could listen in an
overflow room two floors
above.
With the
witness still on direct
examination, it emerged that
Juror Number 1 texted a
co-worked what courthouse he
was in ("Thurgood Marshall by
the Brooklyn Bridge") and got
a reply, "Guy's obviously
guilty." An inquiry ensured -
the juror declined to block
his co-worker's number - and
Judge Sidney H. Stein said he
will decided October 1. Inner
City Press live tweeted it here,
& vlog
2
and podcast here
Q: When Mohammed
[Hossain] said "shahid" what
did he mean? Cooperating
witness: That he would kill
people and be killed himself.
Now an audio
recording being paid, with
reference to Gov Exhibit 203T.
Where are the exhibits? USAfx?
AUSA: Mr
"Sahill," what was your
understanding of why Mohammed
asked you what you would do
with your store? Suhail: We
were going on a Jihadi mission
and might not come back. AUSA:
After the meeting, who did you
give the recording to? Suhail:
FBI.
AUSA: Did
Mohammed mention -- FD:
Objection. AUSA: Al Alaki?
Suhail: Correct. He was with
Al Qaeda, terrorist
organization. [More audio
being played. Here in overflow
room Inner City Press was
directed too, only an SDNY
seal on the monitor. Can't see
any speakers
Suhail: He wanted
to engage in act of terror.
Federal Defense: Objection!
AUSA: I'm just asking about
Mr. Sahail's understanding.
Judge Stein: Mr
Sahail, to you're knowledge
why did Mr Hossain want to
find the people who were
sending bombs through the
mail? Suhail: He liked the
method. To attack and kill.
AUSA: What did he tell you
about how he planned to join
Taliban, from Pakistan?
Suhail: We should
go to Pakistan, it's easy to
connect to Taliban there.
AUSA: Now Gov Exh 205-T. Judge
Stein: Ladies and gentlemen of
the jury, the transcript is
not in evidence.
AUSA: Mr Suhail,
when Mohammed referred to a
Sheikh, what did he mean?
Suhail: A man connected to the
Taliban. AUSA: What did "this
stuff" mean? Suhail: Our
cause, the mission against the
American military. AUSA: Did
he mention Zeid Hamed? Suhail:
Yes, a sheikh
Suhail: He tries
to contact Zeid Hamed on
Facebook but didn't get a
response. Zeid Hamed was with
the Pakistan military but
connected with the Taliban and
could facilitate our joining
them. AUSA: Mr. Citco,
please Gov Exh 250. [Music, as
if with a zither.]
Now US is
showing - but not in overflow
room - a video of Lydig Avenue
and White Plains Road in The
Bronx on Feb 22, 2019 from
2:47 to 2:51 pm. There is no
sound. So, from here, no
information. AUSA: How did you
see? Suhail: Mohammed and
Abdulla
Suhail:
Abdulla was going to join us
for jihad. He was a zealous
and strict your man. [This is
through an interpreter] He was
also called James.
AUSA: Why 2
names? Suhail: When he
embraced Islam. [Where is
James from? Where are the
exhibits?]
AUSA: What
significant in Islam do the
names Hamza, Omar, Abdulla and
Ali have? FD: Objection.
Relevance. Judge Stein: I'll
allow it. Suhail: These were
companions of the Prophet,
peace be upon him. AUSA: Who
said, Brother where are you?
Suhail: Mohammed.
AUSA: Did he
speak about others beyond
Abdulla? Suhail: Yes. "A Black
man who was supposed to go
with us." AUSA: Gov Exh 1016.
Mr Suhail, seeing that [we
can't], do you recognize it?
Suhail: Yes, in Facetime
AUSA: Who do you
see in the video? Suhail:
Mohammed, Abdulla and "the
Black man who was supposed to
go with us.... the Brother
could support us financially,
to get to Taliban.
Federal Defender:
We need a sidebar. [So now,
can neither see nor hear.
Inner City Press is the only
one in the overflow room, with
a Court Security Officer.]
Judge Stein: We
are near the break [4:30
today]. Please wrap up. AUSA:
What did Mohammed mean by "The
other side." Suhail:
Afghanistan. Judge Stein: You
are excused. [He will be
leaving the courtroom 2 floors
down. But Inner City Press is
voluntarily staying on 5]
Judge Stein:
Juror, keep an open mind and
don't go on the Internet. Sir,
what do you have to tell the
court.
Juror: I got a
text. "If I start feeding you
info about the case, I assume
you'll have to recuse
yourself. Guy's obviously
guilty." I didn't respond.
Juror: I
told my friend the name of the
courthouse. Judge Stein: Why
did you tell him? How? Juror:
By text. "Thurgood Marshall,
by the Brooklyn Bridge." It's
mixed in. Nothing more about
the case. Judge Stein: You
shouldn't have said anything.
Are you influenced? Juror: No,
I'm annoyed. But impartial.
Judge Stein: Did you tell any
other jurors?
Juror: No. Only
your deputy. Judge Stein: Will
you block his calls? I know
how to do it. Juror: That
would make it difficult
professionally, I work closely
with the person.
Judge
Stein: If he contact you
again, you must tell my
Deputy. Juror 1, step outside
and wait. FD Gallicchio: I
have to speak to our client if
we will seek to replace him.
What is the relationship?
Judge Stein: Co-workers.
AUSA: We'd also
like to discuss. But if he's
instructed to not tell other
tonight, we can think about
it.
Judge
Stein: I think I've reached a
conclusion but I'll hear from
the parties in the morning.
On September 29
the prosecutor's opening
argument started at 3:59 pm.
Assistant US
Attorney Benjamin Schrier: Mr.
Hossein went to JFK airport on
July 26, 2019 to fly and kill
Americans. His first idea was
to attack a recruiting station
here in NYC with a machine
gun. But he realized it would
kill only 1 or 2 Americans.
That wasn't enough for him.
AUSA: So he
wanted to join the Taliban,
who killed 1000s of Americans.
The defendant ordered supplies
and tried to recruit other. He
bought a ticket to Thailand.
But he made a mistake. A
recruit was a Confidential
Source working for the FBI
AUSA: So he
wanted to join the Taliban,
who killed 1000s of Americans.
The defendant ordered supplies
and tried to recruit other. He
bought a ticket to Thailand.
But he made a mistake. A
recruit was a Confidential
Source working for the FBI
AUSA: The
evidence will show his plot.
He listened to lectures by Al
Qaeda. He chose a recruiting
station in The Bronx. But he
knew he'd get arrested. So he
shifted focus to joining
Taliban.
AUSA: He flirted
online with girls in Thailand.
He was arrested steps away
from the plane. With $10,000
on his and the women he'd
groomed ready to help him. He
had a mission to kill
Americans.
AUSA: You'll hear
audio of him laughing about
the Taliban killing Americans.
He said, no one suspects
terrorism in Thailand. You'll
see his texts, the links to
fundamentalist videos. You'll
see what he looked like
before.
AUSA: Pay
attention, follow Judge
Stein's instructions and use
your common sense. If you do,
you will find the defendant
guilty. Thank you.
Federal Defender
Andrew Dalack: Dolowar Hossain
is a big talker, not a
terrorist. He is a Muslim man
with a big imagination.FD:
It's just sound and fury. It
comes down to his intent. He
was flying to Thailand.
Consider what he did, not what
he said. Consider what the
paid FBI informants did. They
were each paid $30,000 to
steer Delowar.
FD: He
talked about Islam and jihad.
You will find this difficult
to hear. But he had no real
intent to harm anyone. No
military training. He
contacted real women in
Thailand, and Bangladesh.
Consider his luggage - there
was perfume and lotion and
designer jeans
Federal Defender:
Delowar has Abercrombie and
Fitch. He was a wannabe
playboy who wanted to meet up
with random women in Thailand
and Bangladesh. He may be a
cynical and hypocritical
Muslim. But he's not a
terrorist. He worked long
hours as an Uber driver
FD: He was
a gentle people person who
loved to talk about Islam. He
wore a tunic and grew out his
beard. He met Suhail, the paid
informant, while attending a
humble mosque in The Bronx.
The informant was looking for
someone else.
FD: The
informant only started
recording Delowar in September
2018, when he started getting
paid. By the winter, things
had stalled. The FBI was
getting impatient. They
brought in a 2d informant, Abu
Bakr.
FD: The
informants ran errands for
Delowar, who began reaching
out to women overseas. He
purchased a visa to Bangladesh
- to see woman. He asked the
informant to help him buy
condoms and lubricant. Hardly
the ingredients of jihad.
FD: At the end
you must find Delowar not
guilty. Judge Stein: You've
heard the opening statements.
US, call your 1st witness.
AUSA Jessica
Fender: Special Agent with the
Joint Terrorist Task Force.
He says
they wait to arrest Hossain on
the jet way, to show his
intent.
FD Amy
Gallicchio: Objection. Move to
strike.
Judge Stein: I'll
allow it.
The trial
will continue.
In the run-up,
there have
been changes
including the
return to
power in
Afghanistan of
the Taliban. On September
19, the US
Attorney's
Office wrote
to Judge Stein
that it had now
been unable to
reach a stipulation
with the
defense about
the Taliban's
status as a
Specially
Designated
Global Terrorist.
Is it any surprise?
On
September
21, as the
Taliban
belatedly
asked for UN
credentials,
Inner City
Press went to
cover Judge
Stein's
in-person
conference on
the motions in
limine. Judge
Stein said
that the
government's
Taliban expert
could testify,
without any
Daubert hearing
before it. He
said questions
could be
raised on
cross
examination,
or in voir
dire of the
witness.
Hossain's
Federal Defender
said he wants
to see the receipts
of payments to
confidential
sources,
particularly
one listed as
having
committed an "unauthorized
illegal
action," the assault of a
bodega owner.
Did the source pay
his taxes?
Back on
July 20, Judge
Stein
respecting the
practice of
religion
granted Hossain
a modification
of bail
conditions, to
leave his home
at 4 am to
attend a religious
ritual at a
butcher shop
"to celebrate
Eid al-Adha,
an Islamic
holiday that
commemorates
Abraham's near
sacrifice of
one of his
sons at God's
behest." Photo
here.
The case
is US v. Hossain, 19-cr-606
(Stein)
O
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold
Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2019 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
,
