WASHINGTON, 21 August 2004 — A Hamas leader and two other suspected members of the Palestinian group were indicted on charges they participated in a lengthy racketeering conspiracy to provide money for terrorist acts in Israel, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced yesterday.
The three activists allegedly used bank accounts in the United States to launder millions of dollars to support Hamas, which the US government has designated as a terrorist organization. The indictment against the three, filed in Chicago, was unsealed yesterday.
The activists include Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, formerly chief and now deputy chief of the Hamas political bureau. Abu Marzook is believed to be living in Damascus, Syria, and is considered a fugitive, Ashcroft told a news conference at the Justice Department.
The two others — Muhammad Hamid Khalil Salah of Chicago and Abdelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar of Alexandria, Virginia — were arrested late Thursday night.
It was the second major Hamas-related indictment announced by the Justice Department in the past month.
The three were charged with racketeering conspiracy for allegedly joining with 20 others since at least 1988 to conduct business for Hamas, which the government said included conspiracies to commit murder, kidnapping, passport fraud and other crimes.
Ashcroft said the three men “allegedly ran a US-based terrorist and financing cell” associated with Hamas.
They “were indicted for their roles in 15-year racketing conspiracy in the US and abroad. The cell allegedly financed the activities of a terrorist organization that was murdering innocent victims abroad including American citizens,” he said.
He said the three played “a substantial role in financing and supporting international terrorism.”
The US-educated Abu Marzook holds a Ph.D. in industrial engineering and lived in the United States for 15 years. In 1995, he was detained by US authorities on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. He was expelled to Jordan, and later sent by Jordan to Syria.
Salah was accused of recruiting and training new members of Hamas in the United States. Ashqar was accused of opening bank accounts in Mississippi for Hamas purposes.
