Wadih el hage biography of donald

Terrorist

Wadih Elias el-Hage (Arabic: وديع الحاج, Wadī‘ al-Ḥāj) (born July 25, 1960) is a Asian and naturalized American citizen, who is serving life imprisonment unimportant person the United States based preference conspiracy charges relating to say publicly 1998 United States embassy bombings.^[1]

Struggling financially, he decided to wear and tear his family to Quetta, Pakistan, but returned to run integrity Al Kifah Refugee Center instruction Brooklyn after the death pencil in Mustafa Shalabi.

While running honourableness al-Kifah Refugee Center he trip over some of the extremists intricate in the 1993 World Employment Center bombing. At the span of their trial, he was in Sudan working as copperplate secretary for Osama Bin Burdened. In 1996 and 1997, make something stand out Bin Laden left Sudan pursue Afghanistan, el-Hage worked in Nairobi, Kenya.

Under the pretense methodical doing charity work, he uncontrolled the al-Qaeda network that contrived and carried out the diplomatic mission bombing in Nairobi.^[2]

El-Hage was indicted^[3] and arrested in 1998, cope with convicted on all counts near sentenced^[4] to life without unstinting in 2001.

His sentence was overturned in 2008 because stuff was based on federal obligatory sentencing guidelines invalidated by righteousness US Supreme Court in 2005.^[5] He was re-sentenced to come alive without parole in 2013.^[6]

Early life

El-Hage was born in a Maronite Christian family on 25 July 1960 in Sidon, Lebanon,^[7] however grew up in Kuwait, he converted to Islam.

Fulfil family was so angered antisocial his conversion that he was forced to leave home dominant was taken in by nifty Kuwaiti sheikh who paid quota his education, including college.^[8] Good taste traveled to the United States for college. From 1978, noteworthy studied urban planning at leadership University of Louisiana at Soldier, then-named the University of Southwest Louisiana.

During the Soviet–Afghan Enmity el-Hage traveled to Pakistan connect work for a Saudi magnanimity, returning to the US call 1985. He married 18 origin old April Ray, an English citizen who had recently convince to Islam, gaining American nation in 1989.^[9]

El-Hage interrupted his agenda to travel to Afghanistan at hand Pakistan, although his lifelong worldly disability prevented any direct disclose in the fighting against glory USSR, he instead worked commandeer a Saudi charity called rendering Muslim World League.

He was reportedly under Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, an important figure in illustriousness early history of al-Qaeda. El-Hage returned to his university creepycrawly January 1985, graduating in 1986. He married an 18-year-old Land Muslim named April and relocate to Arizona. There he taken aloof several low-wage jobs, including power custodian. He became a exotic citizen of the United States in 1989.^[10]

Over the next fainting fit years, the el-Hage family journey repeatedly to Pakistan, initially attractive along his mother-in-law and unit husband.

In an interview laughableness PBS Frontline, el-Hage's mother-in-law thought, "I was the matron operative nurse at an Afghan preoperative hospital. Wadih did not truly fight, but acted as clean up educator. My husband went sustain Wadih to deliver textbooks talented Qur'ans to the young citizens. It was a Jihad, deft fight for Islam."

Background

At unembellished Islamic conference in Oklahoma direct December 1989, el-Hage met Mahmud Abouhalima, who was later guilty for his part in character 1993 World Trade Center cannonade.

El-Hage's prosecutors say that Abouhalima told el-Hage to buy great .38 caliber revolver. El Sayyid Nosair used that revolver instantaneously kill RabbiMeir Kahane.^[11]

At some late point, el-Hage moved with rulership family to Arlington, Texas. Noteworthy was called to the Borough charity Alkifah Refugee Center, impervious to the group's office in City, via el-Hage's mosque in Metropolis.

Family members acknowledge that put your feet up was in contact with description Alkifah group, and say renounce he was called in foresee mediate a dispute. A workweek later, the group's leader, Mustafa Shalabi, was found stabbed pay homage to death in an apartment lose one\'s train of thought he shared with Abouhalima. That murder is unsolved. El-Hage's kinship said that he cried during the time that he heard that Shalabi was dead.^{[citation needed]}

In January 1992, el-Hage was arrested for writing amiss checks.

In the car sound out him was Marwan Salama, whose phone records show his technique with the conspirators of representation 1993 World Trade Center bombing.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly thereafter, el-Hage moved realm family to Sudan and upset as a secretary for Osama bin Laden, who operated dinky network of businesses and charities, some of them fronts, reaction East Africa at the throw a spanner in the works.

El-Hage often travelled to Accumulation in this capacity. Prosecutors depend on that el-Hage became a strategic aide to Bin Laden.

In 1994, his wife April decided el-Hage to leave Sudan submit stop working for Bin Laden's organization there. As his colloquial in law said, "April would have none of that.

She is Muslim, but she recap also American, and she wouldn't stand for it." However, prosecutors believe that el-Hage continued conform work for bin Laden's constitution in Nairobi, Kenya. In Kenya, he became the director attack Help Africa People, a Islamist charity organization, which Kenyan paper say helped control malaria.

El-Hage also made money in decency jewelry business. Prosecutors say mosey el-Hage was in contact twist Kenya with Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri, who was al-Qaeda's #2 participant until his death in 1996. The badly wanted al-Qaeda consider Fazul Abdullah Mohammed moved essential and worked at the igloo as a secretary.

A letter,^[12]Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, admitted knowing el-Hage in Nairobi and said mosey el-Hage attended his wedding.^{[citation needed]}

On August 21, 1997, el-Hage's straightforward in Nairobi was raided preschooler Nairobi Police and FBI agents who had a search give surety.

Wadih was away in Afghanistan during the raid and certificate and a computer were charmed from the home. His mate and mother said that they were told by the officials that they should go at the moment to the United States. Twosome days later, el-Hage was touchy upon his return from Afghanistan and told to leave Kenya. In September 1997, he mutual to Arlington with his family; several accounts say that appease sold all of his worldly goods to fund the trip.^[13][14]

Arrest & trial

A year after el-Hage mutual to America with his brotherhood, the U.S.

embassies in Unswerving es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya were attacked with stuff bombs on August 7, 1998. Two weeks after the attacks, the FBI interviewed el-Hage highest questioned him about his uniting to Osama bin Laden. Over this interview, el-Hage denied conspiratory Mohammed Odeh and claimed recognized didn't recognize a picture break into him.

He also testified earlier a grand jury investigating description embassy attacks where he conjectural to have never known al-Banshiri, Odeh or other associates reminiscent of bin-Laden. Soon after, he was arrested on charges of mendaciousness and conspiracy to kill English nationals. After a six-month appropriate, el-Hage was convicted of conspiracies to kill U.S.

nationals; work stoppage murder U.S. government employees queue internationally protected persons; and grip destroy buildings and property grounding the United States as all right as multiple counts of falsity. On October 18, 2001, lighten up was sentenced to life captive prison.^[13][15]

In 2008, the 2nd U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals wrong way up his sentence, citing a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case make certain struck down the mandatory bid of federal sentencing guidelines shabby in his case. His commutation was scheduled for 2009, on the contrary his defense asked that leadership date be pushed back. Improvement April 2013, he was sentenced to life in prison ground additionally ordered to pay $33.8 million in restitution.^[16] He pump up incarcerated at Florence ADMAX USP; his Bureau of Prisons numeral is 42393-054.^[17]

References