Ahmed Ressam
Encyclopedia
Ahmed Ressam is an Algerian al-Qaeda
member who lived in Montreal, Canada.
He was convicted of attempting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX) on New Year's Eve
1999, as part of the foiled 2000 millennium attack plots
. He was initially sentenced to 22 years in prison, but in February 2010 an appellate court held his sentence to be too lenient, and ordered that it be extended.
, and graduated from high school in 1988. In 1984 Ressam traveled to Paris, France, for special medical treatments and it was his first time out of Algeria
. Ressam failed the exams to college and applied for jobs with police or security forces but was turned down. Over the next four years he worked with his father in a coffee shop.
He left Algeria on September 5, 1992 due to the civil war
outrage in the country, entering France
on a forged Moroccan passport
in the name of "Nassar Ressam". He was arrested on immigration violations
in Corsica
, a territorial collectivity of France, in November 1993, and France deported him to Morocco
on November 8, 1993, and banned him from returning for three years. Morocco
determined that he was not in fact Moroccan, however, and returned him to France. Faced with a March 1994 hearing, he instead flew to Montreal
, Canada
.
on February 20, 1994, using a fake, illegally altered French passport
in the name of "Anjer Tahar Medjadi". When immigration officials at the Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
arrested him and confronted him about the altered passport, he divulged his real name and applied for refugee status. In his effort to obtain political asylum, he told the Canadian authorities a false story about having been subjected to Algerian abuse and torture. He was released pending a hearing, and given three years of welfare benefits. His application for refugee status was denied on June 6, 1995, and his appeal was denied, and on May 4, 1998, a warrant was issued for his arrest by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
. At the time the warrant was issued, however, he was in Afghanistan, attending a terrorist training camp. He evaded deportation thereafter by using a Canadian passport
he had obtained in March 1998 by submitting a baptismal certificate; he used a stolen blank certificate, filling it in with the fake name, "Benni Antoine Noris."
He supported himself by theft (stealing tourists' suitcases at hotels, pickpocketing, and shoplifting), and through welfare benefits of C$500 per month. He was arrested four times, but never jailed. By 1999, he had a Canadian criminal history for theft under C$5,000, an outstanding Canada-wide immigration arrest warrant
, and a British Columbia
-wide arrest warrant for theft under C$5,000.
Settling in east of Montreal
, he lived with other Algerian immigrants in an apartment building on Avenue Malicorne later identified by Canadian and international police as the headquarters of a Montreal 99 cell connected to Osama bin Laden
's network (the "GIA", or Armed Islamic Group
). He was recruited into al-Qaeda
. According to Canadian Security Intelligence Service
officials, he was under surveillance as part of an investigation into a suspected terrorist ring from 1996 until he left the country.
, an al-Qaeda member who served as the muezzin
at Montreal's Assuna Mosque, which attracted almost 1,500 mostly Algerian worshipers to Friday prayers. Hannachi returned from Afghanistan towards the end of the summer of 1997, where he had trained for jihad
at Khalden Camp. He told Ressam about the experience and jihad, encouraged him to train as well, and ultimately arranged a trip to the camp for him and his roommate Mustapha Labsi
.
On March 17, 1998, interested in joining jihad in Algeria, Ressam traveled using his fraudulent "Benni Noris" passport from Montreal, Canada to Karachi, Pakistan. There, he contacted al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubeida in Peshawar
, Pakistan, who was in charge of the Afghan terrorist training camps funded and organized by Bin Laden. Abu Zubeida approved him, and arranged for him to be transported over the Khyber Pass
into Afghanistan in April.
Using the alias "Nabil", he attended three camps for Islamic terrorists between March 1998 and February 1999. At Khalden Camp, which generally hosted 50–100 trainees at any time, he trained in light weapons, handgun
s, small machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs), explosives (including TNT, C4
plastic explosive
s, and black plastic explosives), poisons (including cyanide
), poison gas, sabotage, target selection, urban warfare
, tactics (including assassinations), and security. Trainees were from Jordan, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, Turkey, Sweden, Germany, and France. During the five to six months he was there, he met Zacarias Moussaoui
. He then trained how to manufacture advanced explosives and make electronic circuits for six weeks at Derunta training camp
, outside Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Abu Zubeida, in contrast, testified before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
that Khalden only trained fighters for "defensive jihad
". He said trainees were explicitly instructed to only attack military targets, that it was an offense against Islam to kill or injure innocent civilians, and that Ressam would never have been sent to Khalden if he were thought to be someone who believed Islam justified attacking civilians.
A six-person terrorist cell that included Ressam was created, and tasked with meeting in Canada, and then attacking a U.S. airport or consulate before the end of 1999. The cell was directed by Abu Jaffar in Pakistan and Abu Doha
in Europe.
He returned to Montreal, Canada, in February 1999 under the name "Benni Noris", bringing $12,000 in cash he had obtained in Afghanistan
to fund the attack, as well as chemical substances known as hexamine
(used as an explosive booster
in the manufacture of explosives) and glycol, and a notebook with explosives concoction instructions. While in Montreal, he shared an apartment with Karim Said Atmani
, an alleged forger for the Algerian Groupe Islamique Arme.
In April 1999, French investigators asked Canadian authorities to locate him for questioning, but the Canadians were unable to locate him as he was living under the name Benni Noris. In the summer of 1999, informed by Abu Doha
that the other members of his cell had been unable to make it to Canada due to immigration issues, he chose to continue without them, targeting an airport.
In August 1999 he decided that he would bomb Los Angeles International Airport
, the third-busiest airport in the world at the time, which he was familiar with because he had landed there in the past, and which he felt would be a politically and economically sensitive target. He planned to conduct a rehearsal using a luggage cart, putting it in a place that was not suspicious, and observing how long it would take for airport security to notice it. He planned to then execute his plan in a passenger waiting area, using one or two suitcases filled with explosives.
In September 1999 he purchased electronic equipment and components in order to build detonator
s, and made four timing devices. He also recruited Abdelmajid Dahoumane
, an old friend of his, to help him. In November, with Dahoumane's assistance he bought urea
and aluminum sulfate from nurseries, and mixed it together with nitric
and sulphuric acid he stole from fertilizer manufacturers to create a TNT-like explosive substance.
He had met Mokhtar Haouari
in early 1994, when he first arrived in Canada. Haouari was involved in fraudulent activity that included the theft and sale of stolen passports and creation of fraudulent credit cards, and Ressam sold him some stolen identity cards. In early November he recruited Haouari to assist him in what he described to Haouari as "some very important and dangerous business in the U.S.", by providing continued funding for his project, a credit card, and a fake ID. In addition, Haouari in turn recruited Brooklyn, New York-based Algerian illegal immigrant Abdelghani Meskini
, a con man
who he said was involved in bank fraud
, to assist Ressam.
On November 17, 1999, Ressam and Dahoumane traveled from Montreal
to Vancouver, British Columbia, where in a small rented motel cottage on the southern outskirts of the city they prepared the explosives for LAX. They left behind an acid burn stain on a table, and corroded plumbing.
In December he called Abu Jaffar in Afghanistan to ask whether Osama Bin Laden
wanted to take credit for the attack, but did not get an answer. He also called Abu Doha in London, told him that he wanted to return to Algeria after the attack, and was assured he would receive money and documents.
Ressam arranged for the English-speaking Meskini to wait for him in Seattle. Meskini would assist him once he crossed the border, by helping him rent a car and communicate in English, driving him, and giving him a cell phone and money withdrawn with a stolen bank debit card.
luxury sedan, and on the evening of December 13, Ressam and Dahoumane hid the explosives and all the related components in the wheel well in the car's trunk. On December 14, they left Vancouver, traveling to Victoria, British Columbia
. Believing that he would draw less scrutiny alone, Ressam sent Dahoumane back to Vancouver, British Colombia by bus.
Ressam then attempted to cross the border by taking the M/V Coho car ferry
from Victoria, British Columbia
, to Port Angeles, Washington
. He successfully passed through U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
checks in Victoria, and boarded the last ferry of the day for the 90-minute crossing to the U.S.
After the ferry docked in Port Angeles at 6 pm, Ressam saw to it that his car was the last one to leave the ferry. Although there had not been any intelligence reports suggesting threats, U.S. Customs inspector Diana Dean decided to have a secondary Customs search of Ressam's car performed, saying later that Ressam was acting "hinky", and asked him to get out of the car.
At first, Ressam was not cooperative. Dean requested that he fill out a Customs declaration form, which he did listing himself as a Canadian citizen named Benni Noris. He also had a passport, Quebec driver license, and credit cards all in the Noris name, as well as another Quebec driver license with the same date of birth, but in the name "Mario Roig". Royal Canadian Mounted Police
later advised that the Mario Roig driver license was a fake, and did not exist on their records.
Another Customs inspector searching his car and unscrewing the covering over the spare tire
in his trunk found, hidden in the spare tire well:
As one of the Customs inspectors began to escort him from the car, Ressam broke free and fled. Inspectors chased him for five to six blocks, and after he unsuccessfully tried to force his way into a car stopped at a light at an intersection, inspectors tackled him in the street and took him into custody.
He was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol on charges of misrepresentation on entry and failure to be inspected, booked into the Clallam County Jail in Clallam County, Washington, and investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI). Customs officials searching him and the car also found the phone numbers of Abu Doha
and Meskini. His fingerprints were analyzed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
, who determined that he was actually "Ahmed Ressam", rather than "Benni Antoine Noris".
An explosives expert concluded that the materials in his car could have produced a blast 40x greater than that of a devastating car bomb
. It was ultimately determined that he had intended to detonate the explosives at the Los Angeles International Airport
.
Ressam was indicted by a superseding indictment on January 20, 2000, for nine counts of criminal activity in connection with his attempt to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport on December 31, 1999: 1) an act of terrorism transcending a national boundary; 2) placing an explosive in proximity to a terminal; 3) false identification documents; 4) use of a fictitious name for admission to the U.S.; 5) the felony
of making a false statement to a U.S. Customs official; 6) smuggling; 7) transportation of explosives; 8) possession of an unregistered firearm; and 9) carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.
Following a 19-day trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles
, with approximately 120 witnesses, a jury found Ressam guilty on all counts of his indictment on April 6, 2001. That same day, he was convicted in absentia
in France, and sentenced to five years for conspiring to commit terrorist acts there.
Cooperation and sentencing
His sentencing was delayed for four years, to give counter-terrorism analysts a chance to fully exploit him as an intelligence source. Facing up to 130 years in prison, Ressam began cooperating with investigators after his conviction pursuant to a June 23, 2001, cooperation agreement that he entered into with the U.S. government. Under the agreement, after he cooperated fully with the U.S. and other governments, the U.S. government would recommend a prison sentence taking his cooperation into consideration, though the recommendation would not under any circumstances be less than 27 years.
He provided information to law enforcement officials of the U.S. and six other countries with regard to al-Qaeda's organization, recruitment, and training activities. He revealed that al-Qaeda sleeper cells existed within the U.S. This information was included in the famous President's Daily Brief
delivered to President George W. Bush
on August 6, 2001, entitled Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US. He testified in July 2001 against his accomplice and co-conspirator Haouari, and Ressam's testimony was also used by the Guantanamo Bay
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
to decide that friends of his, such as fellow Algerian Ahcene Zemiri
, should continue to be held as unlawful combatant
s.
The Summary of Evidence memo
prepared for Abu Zubeida's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
, and the transcript from his Tribunal, indicate that 7 of the 12 unclassified allegations that Abu Zubeida faced were based on Ressam's confessions. The Globe and Mail opined that the intelligence analysts' heavy reliance on Ressam's confessions was due to a desire to have all the unclassified allegations against Abu Zubeida based on evidence that clearly didn't rely on torture.
One person whom he was not asked about until after 9/11, but whom he was able to identify when asked as having trained with him at the Khalden Camp, was Zacarias Moussaoui, an al-Qaeda member later implicated in the 9/11 plot. Moussaoui had been arrested by the FBI on August 16, 2001. But FBI agents were without success trying to convince their superiors that there was enough evidence to obtain a warrant to allow them to search Moussaoui's laptop and belongings. The 9/11 Commission Report
opined that had Ressam been asked about Moussaoui, he would have broken that logjam. Had that happened, the Report opined, the U.S. might conceivably have disrupted or derailed the September 11 attacks altogether.
By November 28, 2001, Ressam began to express reluctance about discussing some matters. By early 2003, after having provided 65 hours of trial and deposition testimony and names of 150 people involved in terrorism, he stopped cooperating and began to recant his prior testimony.
The Seattle Times described Ressam's sentencing hearing as the "gripping climax" to Ressam's journey through the U.S. court system. U.S. Attorney John McKay
argued Ressam should get a 35-year sentence, because he had declined to cooperate in two cases, which would now go unprosecuted. Ressam's lawyer argued that Ressam should be given a sentence of less than 20 years, to reflect the value of his original cooperation, saying: "It is a flat fact that law enforcement, the public, and public safety benefited in immeasurable ways from Ressam's decision to go to trial and [later] cooperate." Ressam didn't say anything during his sentencing hearing, but did send the judge a personal note, that included an apology for planning to bomb the airport.
On July 27, 2005, United States District Court
Judge John Coughenour sentenced Ressam to 22 years in prison, plus 5 years of supervision after his release; credited for good conduct, he could have been released after 14 years. According to the Seattle Times, the judge used the occasion of Ressam's sentencing "to unleash a broadside against secret tribunals and other war on terrorism tactics that abandon 'the ideals that set our nation apart.'" The judge added: "The tragedy of September 11 shook our sense of security and made us realize that we, too, are vulnerable to acts of terrorism. Unfortunately, some believe that this threat renders our Constitution obsolete ... If that view is allowed to prevail, the terrorists will have won."
Appeals and sentencing guidelines
On January 16, 2007, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
in Seattle reversed Ressam's conviction on one of the charges, due to the majority's reading of the applicable law. The Supreme Court of the United States
, however, then overturned the Ninth Circuit in an 8–1 decision on May 19, 2008, restoring the original convictions and sentence.
On February 2, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that his 22-year sentence was too lenient, and did not fit in the then-mandatory sentencing guidelines, which indicated he should have received at least 65 years, and up to 130 years, in prison. Finding that the trial court judge's "views appear too entrenched to allow for the appearance of fairness on remand
," the appellate court ordered that Ressam be re-sentenced by a different district court judge than the one who had handed down the original sentence. In March 2010, Ressam's lawyer said he would file a petition for a rehearing before the Ninth Circuit Court.
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
member who lived in Montreal, Canada.
He was convicted of attempting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
(LAX) on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
1999, as part of the foiled 2000 millennium attack plots
2000 millennium attack plots
The Year 2000 attack plots were terrorist attacks planned to occur on or near January 1, 2000: the bombing of four sites in Jordan, the bombing of Los Angeles International Airport , and the bombing of the USS The Sullivans. The first two plots were foiled by law enforcement agencies; the third was...
. He was initially sentenced to 22 years in prison, but in February 2010 an appellate court held his sentence to be too lenient, and ordered that it be extended.
Early life
The eldest of seven children, he grew up in a town west of AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, and graduated from high school in 1988. In 1984 Ressam traveled to Paris, France, for special medical treatments and it was his first time out of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. Ressam failed the exams to college and applied for jobs with police or security forces but was turned down. Over the next four years he worked with his father in a coffee shop.
He left Algeria on September 5, 1992 due to the civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
outrage in the country, entering France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on a forged Moroccan passport
Moroccan passport
Visa requirements for Moroccan citizens are administrative entry restriction imposed by the authorities of other states on citizens of Morocco....
in the name of "Nassar Ressam". He was arrested on immigration violations
Immigration law
Immigration law refers to national government policies which control the phenomenon of immigration to their country.Immigraton law, regarding foreign citizens, is related to nationality law, which governs the legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship...
in Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, a territorial collectivity of France, in November 1993, and France deported him to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
on November 8, 1993, and banned him from returning for three years. Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
determined that he was not in fact Moroccan, however, and returned him to France. Faced with a March 1994 hearing, he instead flew to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Canada
Ressam entered CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on February 20, 1994, using a fake, illegally altered French passport
French passport
French passports are issued to French citizens for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as indication of French citizenship , they facilitate the process of securing assistance from French consular officials...
in the name of "Anjer Tahar Medjadi". When immigration officials at the Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, originally called Montréal International Airport and widely known simply as Mirabel is an airport located in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal and was opened October 4, 1975...
arrested him and confronted him about the altered passport, he divulged his real name and applied for refugee status. In his effort to obtain political asylum, he told the Canadian authorities a false story about having been subjected to Algerian abuse and torture. He was released pending a hearing, and given three years of welfare benefits. His application for refugee status was denied on June 6, 1995, and his appeal was denied, and on May 4, 1998, a warrant was issued for his arrest by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Citizenship and Immigration Canada is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for issues dealing with immigration and citizenship...
. At the time the warrant was issued, however, he was in Afghanistan, attending a terrorist training camp. He evaded deportation thereafter by using a Canadian passport
Canadian passport
A Canadian passport is a passport issued to citizens of Canada for the purpose of international travel; allowing the bearer to travel in foreign countries in accordance with visa requirements; facilitating the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary; and...
he had obtained in March 1998 by submitting a baptismal certificate; he used a stolen blank certificate, filling it in with the fake name, "Benni Antoine Noris."
He supported himself by theft (stealing tourists' suitcases at hotels, pickpocketing, and shoplifting), and through welfare benefits of C$500 per month. He was arrested four times, but never jailed. By 1999, he had a Canadian criminal history for theft under C$5,000, an outstanding Canada-wide immigration arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
, and a British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
-wide arrest warrant for theft under C$5,000.
Settling in east of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, he lived with other Algerian immigrants in an apartment building on Avenue Malicorne later identified by Canadian and international police as the headquarters of a Montreal 99 cell connected to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
's network (the "GIA", or Armed Islamic Group
Armed Islamic Group
The Armed Islamic Group is an Islamist organisation that wants to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state...
). He was recruited into al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. According to Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
officials, he was under surveillance as part of an investigation into a suspected terrorist ring from 1996 until he left the country.
Terrorist training in Afghanistan
Ressam became friends with Raouf HannachiRaouf Hannachi
Born in Tunisia, Raouf Hannachi is a Canadian citizen who served as the Muezzin at Assuna Mosque in Montreal, and was later detained by the United States government at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba...
, an al-Qaeda member who served as the muezzin
Muezzin
A muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
at Montreal's Assuna Mosque, which attracted almost 1,500 mostly Algerian worshipers to Friday prayers. Hannachi returned from Afghanistan towards the end of the summer of 1997, where he had trained for jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
at Khalden Camp. He told Ressam about the experience and jihad, encouraged him to train as well, and ultimately arranged a trip to the camp for him and his roommate Mustapha Labsi
Mustapha Labsi
Mustapha Labsi, an Algerian resident living in London, England, was arrested in 2001 on terrorism charges, which were later dropped. He was re-arrested in 2003 for the same charges.-Life:...
.
On March 17, 1998, interested in joining jihad in Algeria, Ressam traveled using his fraudulent "Benni Noris" passport from Montreal, Canada to Karachi, Pakistan. There, he contacted al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubeida in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Pakistan, who was in charge of the Afghan terrorist training camps funded and organized by Bin Laden. Abu Zubeida approved him, and arranged for him to be transported over the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
into Afghanistan in April.
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s, small machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs), explosives (including TNT, C4
C4
C4, C04, C.IV or C-4 may refer to:* C-4 , a type of plastic explosive* Hafdasa C-4, an Argentine submachine gunIn biology:* C4 carbon fixation, a pathway for carbon fixation in photosynthesis...
plastic explosive
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
s, and black plastic explosives), poisons (including cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
), poison gas, sabotage, target selection, urban warfare
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
, tactics (including assassinations), and security. Trainees were from Jordan, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, Turkey, Sweden, Germany, and France. During the five to six months he was there, he met Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui is a French citizen who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11 attacks...
. He then trained how to manufacture advanced explosives and make electronic circuits for six weeks at Derunta training camp
Derunta training camp
The Derunta training camp was one of the most well-known of many military training camps that have been alleged to have been affiliated with al Qaeda.-Training with poisons:...
, outside Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Abu Zubeida, in contrast, testified before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
that Khalden only trained fighters for "defensive jihad
Defensive jihad
There are two types of armed religious warfare in Islam, namely the defensive jihad and the offensive jihad. This article discusses defensive jihad as a concept in Islamic law...
". He said trainees were explicitly instructed to only attack military targets, that it was an offense against Islam to kill or injure innocent civilians, and that Ressam would never have been sent to Khalden if he were thought to be someone who believed Islam justified attacking civilians.
A six-person terrorist cell that included Ressam was created, and tasked with meeting in Canada, and then attacking a U.S. airport or consulate before the end of 1999. The cell was directed by Abu Jaffar in Pakistan and Abu Doha
Abu Doha
Amar Makhlulif alias Abu Doha is an Algerian alleged to be member of the al-Qaeda and GSPC terrorist networks. He was arrested at London Heathrow Airport in February 2001 while attempting to travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on a forged passport. On 3 July 2008 the British bench released him from...
in Europe.
Plot to bomb LAX
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to fund the attack, as well as chemical substances known as hexamine
Hexamine
Hexamethylenetetramine is a heterocyclic organic compound with the formula 6N4. This white crystalline compound is highly soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It has a cage-like structure similar to adamantane. It is useful in the synthesis of other chemical compounds, e.g. plastics,...
(used as an explosive booster
Explosive booster
An explosive booster acts as a bridge between a low energy explosive and a low sensitivity explosive such as TNT. It increases the explosive shockwave from an initiating explosive to the degree sufficient to detonate the secondary charge.Unlike C4 plastic explosive, not all explosives can be...
in the manufacture of explosives) and glycol, and a notebook with explosives concoction instructions. While in Montreal, he shared an apartment with Karim Said Atmani
Karim Said Atmani
A Moroccan living illegally in Montreal since 1995, Karim Said Atmani was alleged to be a document-forger for the Groupe Islamique Armé, and shared an apartment with Ahmed Ressam....
, an alleged forger for the Algerian Groupe Islamique Arme.
In April 1999, French investigators asked Canadian authorities to locate him for questioning, but the Canadians were unable to locate him as he was living under the name Benni Noris. In the summer of 1999, informed by Abu Doha
Abu Doha
Amar Makhlulif alias Abu Doha is an Algerian alleged to be member of the al-Qaeda and GSPC terrorist networks. He was arrested at London Heathrow Airport in February 2001 while attempting to travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on a forged passport. On 3 July 2008 the British bench released him from...
that the other members of his cell had been unable to make it to Canada due to immigration issues, he chose to continue without them, targeting an airport.
In August 1999 he decided that he would bomb Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, the third-busiest airport in the world at the time, which he was familiar with because he had landed there in the past, and which he felt would be a politically and economically sensitive target. He planned to conduct a rehearsal using a luggage cart, putting it in a place that was not suspicious, and observing how long it would take for airport security to notice it. He planned to then execute his plan in a passenger waiting area, using one or two suitcases filled with explosives.
In September 1999 he purchased electronic equipment and components in order to build detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
s, and made four timing devices. He also recruited Abdelmajid Dahoumane
Abdelmajid Dahoumane
Born January 6, 1967 in Algeria, Abdelmajid Dahoumane is wanted by the FBI in connection with the 2000 Millennium Plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport....
, an old friend of his, to help him. In November, with Dahoumane's assistance he bought urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
and aluminum sulfate from nurseries, and mixed it together with nitric
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
and sulphuric acid he stole from fertilizer manufacturers to create a TNT-like explosive substance.
He had met Mokhtar Haouari
Mokhtar Haouari
Mokhtar Haouari , an Algerian-Canadian, was sentenced to 24 year imprisonment following the Millennium Plot, after investigators traced one of Ahmed Ressam's credit cards to Haouari. He also provided Ressam with a fake Quebec drivers license....
in early 1994, when he first arrived in Canada. Haouari was involved in fraudulent activity that included the theft and sale of stolen passports and creation of fraudulent credit cards, and Ressam sold him some stolen identity cards. In early November he recruited Haouari to assist him in what he described to Haouari as "some very important and dangerous business in the U.S.", by providing continued funding for his project, a credit card, and a fake ID. In addition, Haouari in turn recruited Brooklyn, New York-based Algerian illegal immigrant Abdelghani Meskini
Abdelghani Meskini
An Algerian, Abdel Ghani was arrested in Brooklyn, New York in 1999, after his phone number was found on Ahmed Ressam who had crossed the border from Canada carrying explosives to further the Millennium Plot...
, a con man
Con Man
Con Man or Conman may refer to:* A con artist, or a person who uses a fraud method known as a confidence trick* Con Man, a.k.a. Freelance , starring Ian McShane...
who he said was involved in bank fraud
Bank fraud
Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
, to assist Ressam.
On November 17, 1999, Ressam and Dahoumane traveled from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to Vancouver, British Columbia, where in a small rented motel cottage on the southern outskirts of the city they prepared the explosives for LAX. They left behind an acid burn stain on a table, and corroded plumbing.
In December he called Abu Jaffar in Afghanistan to ask whether Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
wanted to take credit for the attack, but did not get an answer. He also called Abu Doha in London, told him that he wanted to return to Algeria after the attack, and was assured he would receive money and documents.
Ressam arranged for the English-speaking Meskini to wait for him in Seattle. Meskini would assist him once he crossed the border, by helping him rent a car and communicate in English, driving him, and giving him a cell phone and money withdrawn with a stolen bank debit card.
Capture
Ressam rented a dark green 1999 Chrysler 300MChrysler 300M
The Chrysler 300M is a sports sedan produced by Chrysler from 1999 to 2004. Chrysler Corporation revived the 300 name on the 300M. This time it was a front-wheel drive, V6 engined car using the Chrysler LH platform. While not technically part of the famous "letter series" of the 1950s and 1960s,...
luxury sedan, and on the evening of December 13, Ressam and Dahoumane hid the explosives and all the related components in the wheel well in the car's trunk. On December 14, they left Vancouver, traveling to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. Believing that he would draw less scrutiny alone, Ressam sent Dahoumane back to Vancouver, British Colombia by bus.
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
from Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, to Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
. He successfully passed through U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
checks in Victoria, and boarded the last ferry of the day for the 90-minute crossing to the U.S.
After the ferry docked in Port Angeles at 6 pm, Ressam saw to it that his car was the last one to leave the ferry. Although there had not been any intelligence reports suggesting threats, U.S. Customs inspector Diana Dean decided to have a secondary Customs search of Ressam's car performed, saying later that Ressam was acting "hinky", and asked him to get out of the car.
At first, Ressam was not cooperative. Dean requested that he fill out a Customs declaration form, which he did listing himself as a Canadian citizen named Benni Noris. He also had a passport, Quebec driver license, and credit cards all in the Noris name, as well as another Quebec driver license with the same date of birth, but in the name "Mario Roig". Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
later advised that the Mario Roig driver license was a fake, and did not exist on their records.
Another Customs inspector searching his car and unscrewing the covering over the spare tire
Spare tire
A spare tire is an additional tire carried in a motor vehicle as a replacement for one that goes flat, a blowout, or other emergency...
in his trunk found, hidden in the spare tire well:
- 10 green plastic garbage bags with 118 pounds (53.5 kg) of a fine white powder (which tests later identified as urea, used to manufacture explosives and fertilizer),
- 2 lozenge bottles filled with primary explosives hexamethylene triperoxide diamineHexamethylene triperoxide diamineHexamethylene triperoxide diamine is ahigh explosive organic compound, first synthesised in 1885 by Legler. The theorised structure lent itself well to acting as an initiating, or primary explosive...
(HMTD) and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), - 2 plastic bags with 14 pounds (6.4 kg) of a crystalline powder (later shown to be aluminium sulfateAluminium sulfateAluminium sulfate, alternatively spelt aluminum sulfate, aluminium sulphate, or aluminum sulphate; is a chemical compound with the formula Al23...
, used primarily as a desiccantDesiccantA desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness in its local vicinity in a moderately well-sealed container....
, to keep things dry), - two 22-ounce olive jars with 2.6 pounds (1.2 kg) of golden-brown liquid (later identified as secondary explosive ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN), an extremely explosive and volatile nitroglycerin equivalent that is twice as powerful as TNT), and
- 4 operational timing devices designed to detonate primary explosives, consisting of small black boxes containing circuit boards connected to CasioCasiois a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
watches and 9-volt9-Volt9-Volt may refer to:*A nine-volt battery, sometimes referred to as a "PP3 battery"*9-Volt , a character from the WarioWare video game series...
battery connectors. When the watch alarm would ring, an electrical charge would pass from the battery to a small lightbulb which had had its glass covering removed, exposing the filament; the bulb would heat, ignite, and detonate the other bomb ingredients in a chain reactionChain reactionA chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
.
As one of the Customs inspectors began to escort him from the car, Ressam broke free and fled. Inspectors chased him for five to six blocks, and after he unsuccessfully tried to force his way into a car stopped at a light at an intersection, inspectors tackled him in the street and took him into custody.
He was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol on charges of misrepresentation on entry and failure to be inspected, booked into the Clallam County Jail in Clallam County, Washington, and investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI). Customs officials searching him and the car also found the phone numbers of Abu Doha
Abu Doha
Amar Makhlulif alias Abu Doha is an Algerian alleged to be member of the al-Qaeda and GSPC terrorist networks. He was arrested at London Heathrow Airport in February 2001 while attempting to travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on a forged passport. On 3 July 2008 the British bench released him from...
and Meskini. His fingerprints were analyzed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
, who determined that he was actually "Ahmed Ressam", rather than "Benni Antoine Noris".
An explosives expert concluded that the materials in his car could have produced a blast 40x greater than that of a devastating car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
. It was ultimately determined that he had intended to detonate the explosives at the Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
.
Trial, sentencing, and appeals
Indictment and trialRessam was indicted by a superseding indictment on January 20, 2000, for nine counts of criminal activity in connection with his attempt to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport on December 31, 1999: 1) an act of terrorism transcending a national boundary; 2) placing an explosive in proximity to a terminal; 3) false identification documents; 4) use of a fictitious name for admission to the U.S.; 5) the felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
of making a false statement to a U.S. Customs official; 6) smuggling; 7) transportation of explosives; 8) possession of an unregistered firearm; and 9) carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.
Following a 19-day trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, with approximately 120 witnesses, a jury found Ressam guilty on all counts of his indictment on April 6, 2001. That same day, he was convicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
in France, and sentenced to five years for conspiring to commit terrorist acts there.
Cooperation and sentencing
His sentencing was delayed for four years, to give counter-terrorism analysts a chance to fully exploit him as an intelligence source. Facing up to 130 years in prison, Ressam began cooperating with investigators after his conviction pursuant to a June 23, 2001, cooperation agreement that he entered into with the U.S. government. Under the agreement, after he cooperated fully with the U.S. and other governments, the U.S. government would recommend a prison sentence taking his cooperation into consideration, though the recommendation would not under any circumstances be less than 27 years.
He provided information to law enforcement officials of the U.S. and six other countries with regard to al-Qaeda's organization, recruitment, and training activities. He revealed that al-Qaeda sleeper cells existed within the U.S. This information was included in the famous President's Daily Brief
President's Daily Brief
The President's Daily Brief , sometimes incorrectly referred to as the President's Daily Briefing or the President's Daily Bulletin, is a top-secret document produced each morning for the President of the United States...
delivered to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on August 6, 2001, entitled Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US. He testified in July 2001 against his accomplice and co-conspirator Haouari, and Ressam's testimony was also used by the Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
to decide that friends of his, such as fellow Algerian Ahcene Zemiri
Ahcene Zemiri
Hassan Zumiri is an Algerian citizen who spent eight years in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.-Interrogated by Canadian Security officials in Guantanamo:...
, should continue to be held as unlawful combatant
Unlawful combatant
An unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a civilian who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war. An unlawful combatant may be detained or prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action.The Geneva Conventions apply in wars...
s.
The Summary of Evidence memo
Summary of Evidence (CSRT)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives who remained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba in the fall of 2004.-The 2005 release:...
prepared for Abu Zubeida's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
, and the transcript from his Tribunal, indicate that 7 of the 12 unclassified allegations that Abu Zubeida faced were based on Ressam's confessions. The Globe and Mail opined that the intelligence analysts' heavy reliance on Ressam's confessions was due to a desire to have all the unclassified allegations against Abu Zubeida based on evidence that clearly didn't rely on torture.
One person whom he was not asked about until after 9/11, but whom he was able to identify when asked as having trained with him at the Khalden Camp, was Zacarias Moussaoui, an al-Qaeda member later implicated in the 9/11 plot. Moussaoui had been arrested by the FBI on August 16, 2001. But FBI agents were without success trying to convince their superiors that there was enough evidence to obtain a warrant to allow them to search Moussaoui's laptop and belongings. The 9/11 Commission Report
9/11 Commission Report
The 9/11 Commission Report, formally named Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks...
opined that had Ressam been asked about Moussaoui, he would have broken that logjam. Had that happened, the Report opined, the U.S. might conceivably have disrupted or derailed the September 11 attacks altogether.
By November 28, 2001, Ressam began to express reluctance about discussing some matters. By early 2003, after having provided 65 hours of trial and deposition testimony and names of 150 people involved in terrorism, he stopped cooperating and began to recant his prior testimony.
The Seattle Times described Ressam's sentencing hearing as the "gripping climax" to Ressam's journey through the U.S. court system. U.S. Attorney John McKay
John McKay (attorney)
John Larkin McKay is a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington.John Larkin McKay, a member of a prominent Republican family in the state, attended the University of Washington, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978...
argued Ressam should get a 35-year sentence, because he had declined to cooperate in two cases, which would now go unprosecuted. Ressam's lawyer argued that Ressam should be given a sentence of less than 20 years, to reflect the value of his original cooperation, saying: "It is a flat fact that law enforcement, the public, and public safety benefited in immeasurable ways from Ressam's decision to go to trial and [later] cooperate." Ressam didn't say anything during his sentencing hearing, but did send the judge a personal note, that included an apology for planning to bomb the airport.
On July 27, 2005, United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
Judge John Coughenour sentenced Ressam to 22 years in prison, plus 5 years of supervision after his release; credited for good conduct, he could have been released after 14 years. According to the Seattle Times, the judge used the occasion of Ressam's sentencing "to unleash a broadside against secret tribunals and other war on terrorism tactics that abandon 'the ideals that set our nation apart.'" The judge added: "The tragedy of September 11 shook our sense of security and made us realize that we, too, are vulnerable to acts of terrorism. Unfortunately, some believe that this threat renders our Constitution obsolete ... If that view is allowed to prevail, the terrorists will have won."
Appeals and sentencing guidelines
On January 16, 2007, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
in Seattle reversed Ressam's conviction on one of the charges, due to the majority's reading of the applicable law. The Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, however, then overturned the Ninth Circuit in an 8–1 decision on May 19, 2008, restoring the original convictions and sentence.
On February 2, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that his 22-year sentence was too lenient, and did not fit in the then-mandatory sentencing guidelines, which indicated he should have received at least 65 years, and up to 130 years, in prison. Finding that the trial court judge's "views appear too entrenched to allow for the appearance of fairness on remand
Remand
The term remand may be used to describe an action by an appellate court in which it remands, or sends back, a case to the trial court or lower appellate court for action....
," the appellate court ordered that Ressam be re-sentenced by a different district court judge than the one who had handed down the original sentence. In March 2010, Ressam's lawyer said he would file a petition for a rehearing before the Ninth Circuit Court.
External links
- "Superseding Indictment in U.S. v. Ressam", January 20, 2000
- The Terrorist Within, Seattle Times
- Intuition keeps law enforcement one step ahead, US Customs Today, February 2000.