U.S. Navy Signalman Convicted in Terrorism Case

Criminal Justice

U.S. Navy Signalman Convicted in Terrorism Case

Posted Mar 5, 2008, 07:36 pm CDT
By Martha Neil

A federal jury in Connecticut convicted a former U.S. Navy signalman today of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing classified national defense information in a close case in which both sides acknowledge that direct proof was lacking. Hassan Abu-Jihaad, 32, faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in May.

The Muslim convert, who was formerly known as Paul R. Hall, was convicted of having passed information to terrorism sympathizers about the ship on which he was stationed, troop movements and the battle group formation of which the vessel was a part in 2001, as it headed into the Persian Gulf, reports the Associated Press. Although no attack on the USS Benfold resulted, Abu-Jihaad's actions endangered countless service members, officials say.

While there was evidence that Abu-Jihaad sympathized with the enemy and revealed military intelligence, there reportedly was no direct link between his conduct and material about the USS Benfold found on the computer of a terrorism sympathizer in London.

Attorney Dan LaBelle, who defended Abu-Jihaad, "tried to show that many details of ship movements he was accused of leaking to suspected terrorism supporters were publicly available through news reports, press releases and websites," the AP article states. "He also noted that Navy officials testified that the details were full of errors."

An appeal of today's conviction is likely, according to LaBelle.

Kenneth Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, praised the prosecution for its successful handling of the challenging case.

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