SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 8 – 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.
This
continued on October 1,
concluding in this, live
tweeted here
and below.
And while
Inner City Press covered the
charging conference on October
6, when the jury reached
guilty verdicts Friday,
October 8 at 3 pm before a
three day weekend, it was not
put in the public docket as of
10 pm, nor any press release
by the prosecutors. The
defense has said, "We are
disappointed by the verdict.
We maintain that Delowar never
had the intent to join the
Taliban and that the evidence
did not demonstrate he would
have ever traveled to
Afghanistan." Inner City Pres
will cover the sentencing in
2022 - and any motions before
or after.
On October 6,
after a charging conference
which Inner City Press
attended and at which a
stipulation that Hossain never
obtained OFAC permission to
support the Taliban, Judge
Stein reads his instructions
to the jury. It is reaching
end-game. Vlog here.
Back on October
4, Federal Defender Andrew
Dalack asked the US'
Afghanistan expert - not shown
on the screen in the overflow
room to which Inner City Press
was directed - who killed more
in the time frame, US
airstrikes or the Taliban. The
AUSA objected, and Judge Stein
sustained the objection.
Khalilzad, described as a
Pence appointee but who was
also at the UN when Inner City
Press began there, was asked
about.
Next up is
Confidential Informant Number
Two - four hours direct, three
hours cross by Federal
Defender Amy Gallicchio - then
a summary witness and the
government will rest. For now,
this vlog
- and this song.
From October 1:
Federal Defender Dalack: This
is a message from Delowar
[Hossain] to me, on the day he
met you in the mosque in The
Bronx? Long interpretation. FD
asks to show it to jurors.
Suhair: This is the 2nd
mosque. FD Dalack: Let me take
a step back. Based on your
direct
AUSA:
Objection. Misstates the
testimony. Judge Stein: What
day was it? Was it the first
day you met the defendant?
April 20, 2018? Suhail: I
believe it was a different
day. FD Dalack: You went to
the mosque looking for someone
at the request of the FBI,
correct?
Suhail:
Yes. FD Dalack: And that the
first time you met Delowar,
correct? Suhail: We met at the
first mosque. Then he sent me
the address of the 2d mosque.
FD Dalack: He texted you,
correct? Suhail: No.
[It's like,
Who's on the first mosque?]
Judge Stein: Approximately how
many days between when you met
him and Gov Ex 505 on the
screen? Suhail: Perhaps uh,
two weeks, three weeks, a
little more or less.
Suhail: Three week or more.
Maybe less. FD Dalack: The
Arabic there says El Yom,
which means today, right?
Judge Stein: It says today?
AUSA: Mr Dalack can't
translate Arabic for us. Judge
Stein: Just circle the
areas.
Suhail: It is
possible I took a snap shot of
this message to send it over
to the FBI, like they asked.
FD Dalack: Do you know how
iMessage works? Suhali: What's
iMessage? FD Dalack: It's the
application we're looking at.
AUSA: Objection.
FD Dalack: So
this invites you to the mosque
on Ward Avenue in The Bronx,
right? AUSA: Objection. Judge
Stein: I'll allow it.
Interpreter: Could the court
reporter read the question
back? FD Dalack: Look at what
I've circled
FD Dalack: Wasn't
this the time of Friday
prayers? Suhail: Could be. FD:
What number did you text from?
Suhail: Later on the provided
me another phone, just to text
with him. Not use personal
phone. Use work phone, they
tell me. FD: 9916 was your
personal phone
Judge
Stein: Look away from the
document. Is your recollection
refreshed? Suhial: No. FD
Dalack: OK. Judge Stein: Take
the exhibit down.
FD Dalack: He
wanted you to wake him from a
nap when you got to the
mosque? AUSA: Objection. Judge
Stein: How much longer? FD:
Several hours.
FD Dalack: You
goal was to find him when you
got the mosque, right, and
wake him? Suhail: Yes. FD
Dallack: You told the FBI
about it? Suhail: Yes. FD: But
they didn't pay you? Suhail:
Not for this.
FD: You
called Delowar on May 17,
2018, right? Suhail: Maybe.
FD: You wanted info for the
FBI? [It's 5:03]
On
September 30 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. [Juror
1 was allowed to stay on.]
Inner City Press live tweeted
it here,
& vlog
2
and podcast here
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
***
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