Government prosecutors plan to dismiss the two most serious charges pending against terrorism suspect Mohamed Kamal Elzahabi, they told a federal judge in Minneapolis Wednesday.
Terror suspect has most serious charges dropped
The government will dismiss charges that Elzahabi lied to the FBI.
February 28, 2008 at 5:20AM
Elzahabi, a Lebanese national who has been in custody since 2004, was convicted in August of possessing fraudulent immigration documents. Prosecutors said his 1984 marriage to an exotic dancer in Houston was a business deal to obtain a green card, and that he fraudulently obtained documents to get jobs in Minnesota in 2001 and 2002.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anders Folk said Wednesday that the government plans to drop charges of making false statements to the FBI in April 2004. The government alleged that Elzahabi lied about his role in shipping radios and other telecommunications devices to Pakistan. And it accused him of lying to investigators about helping a terrorism suspect obtain a driver's license.
Paul Engh, one of Elzahabi's defense attorneys, asked that his client be sentenced as soon as possible. He's already spent more time in prison than he would be expected to serve, Engh said. U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim said a date might be set in two weeks.
Folk said Elzahabi would be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement upon his release from custody, pending deportation proceedings.
Engh said Elzahabi would like to return to Lebanon but didn't know if Lebanon would accept him. He told Tunheim that Elzahabi's family has hired an immigration lawyer to represent him.
Dan Browning • 612-673-4493
From small businesses to giants like Target, retailers are benefitting from the $10 billion industry for South Korean pop music, including its revival of physical album sales.
