Wired: Mike Hawash "officially" charged

[Tyler Durden]

U.S. officials on Monday charged Maher "Mike" Hawash, an Arab-American who 
had been detained since March, with conspiracy to help a suspected cell of 
people accused of aiding al Qaeda and Taliban forces.

Maher Mofeid Hawash, 39, of Hillsboro, Oregon, was charged in a criminal 
complaint with conspiracy to levy war against the United States, conspiracy 
to provide material support to al Qaeda and conspiracy to contribute 
services to al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Hawash, a software contractor with Intel, had been held since March 20, 
sparking an outcry from supporters who protested the high level of secrecy 
surrounding legal proceedings against him.

The Justice Department said in a statement that Hawash was believed to be 
involved in the same activities as the "Portland Six" -- a group indicted in 
the fall of 2002 and accused by Attorney General John Ashcroft of being part 
of a "suspected terrorist cell."

Hawash was charged with the same violations as Jeffrey Leon Battle, Patrice 
Lumumba Ford, Ahmed Abrahim Bilal, Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, Habis Abdullah Al 
Saoub and October Martinique Lewis. All six previously charged defendants 
had lived in Portland, Oregon.

Five of the six are in custody. Al Saoub is still at large and is believed 
to be outside the United States.

The complaint said U.S. officials identified Hawash based on evidence seized 
at the time of the other arrests and from evidence gained through follow-up 
investigations.

According to the criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in 
Portland, Hawash decided after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United 
States to travel to Afghanistan to join forces with Taliban and al Qaeda 
troops fighting there. The United States, which blames Osama bin Laden's al 
Qaeda terror network for masterminding the strikes that killed more than 
3,000, launched the attack in Afghanistan to uproot the country's Islamic 
fundamentalist Taliban government.

Hawash is accused of traveling with the other defendants to China in an 
attempt to enter Afghanistan and fight against U.S. forces. Hawash returned 
to the United States in November 2001 after failing to enter Afghanistan.

The complaint says Hawash claimed his travel to China was related to his 
personal software business.

Hawash was initially detained as a material witness in a secret grand jury 
investigation. The material witness designation allowed Hawash to be held 
indefinitely without being charged. According to an investigation by the 
Washington Post, at least 44 others have been held in secret as material 
witnesses by authorities in terrorism-related investigations. The American 
Civil Liberties Union has condemned the government's detention of the 
individuals.

Friends of Hawash, led by former Intel executive Steven McGeady, continue to 
campaign for his release.

According to the campaign website, Free Mike Hawash, the evidence against 
Hawash is weak.

"The evidence presented in the complaint is, in our opinion, weak, and 
amounts to guilt by association," says a statement on the site. "The 
government had a weak case when he was originally detained  and has no 
stronger a case now.

"We will continue to stand by Mike," the statement continues. "We believe in 
his innocence, and believe that he will ultimately be cleared of all 
charges."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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