Examiner : Prosecutors try to show leaked documents matched ship movements

Prosecutors try to show leaked documents matched ship movements

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, The Associated Press | February 28, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Prosecutors at the federal trial of a former sailor on terrorism charges tried to show Thursday that a stop by his ship in Hawaii matched details of ship movements that he allegedly leaked to terrorism supporters.

Hassan Abu-Jihaad, 32, of Phoenix, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he provided material support to terrorists and disclosed classified national defense information.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Abu-Jihaad, an American-born Muslim convert formerly known as Paul R. Hall, is accused of leaking information that could have doomed his own ship. He was a Navy signalman and received an honorable discharge in 2002.

He is accused of passing along details that included the makeup of his Navy battle group, its planned movements and a drawing of the group's formation when it was to pass through the Straits of Hormuz on April 29, 2001.

Files found on a computer disk recovered by authorities from an alleged terror supporter's home also included the number and type of personnel on each ship and the ships' capabilities and ended with instructions to destroy the message, according to testimony.

Navy officials testified that, as a signalman, Abu-Jihaad would have had access to details of ship movements.

Adam Conaway, a Navy quartermaster, testified Thursday that Abu-Jihaad's ship, the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, stopped in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for ammunition on March 20, 2001.

The leaked documents recovered by authorities indicated that some ships would load Tomahawk missiles on that date.

On cross-examination, Abu-Jihaad's attorneys pointed out that the leaked document referred only to some ships and did not specifically mention the USS Benfold. Prosecutors rebutted that by having Conaway confirm that the Benfold was the only ship from the battle group that stopped in Hawaii that day.

Conaway also highlighted the dangers the battle group faced going through the Strait of Hormuz, a busy narrow Persian Gulf waterway where U.S. ships were frequently challenged by Iranian officials.

He said sailors were in a heightened state of readiness, manning machine guns and closing hatches in case the ship was damaged. Before the ships entered the strait, a team prepared to defend the ship conducted a drill, he said.

Passing through the strait posed a "significant" risk to the ships, Scott Graham, a Navy commander, testified. He said leaking details of the ship movements would "cause great concern" and might have led to an even higher alert.

Dennis Amador, a quartermaster and Abu-Jihaad's supervisor on the Benfold, testified that keeping ship movements confidential is so important that he uses code even to tell his wife where he is.

"We in the Navy are taught from the minute we come in that loose lips sink ships," he said.

He testified that during his time on the Benfold, Abu-jihaad showed him a brutal, graphic video of Chechen rebels attacking Russians. Earlier in the trial, prosecutors showed videos depicting violent jihad that they say Abu-Jihaad ordered from Web sites run by terrorism supporters. His attorneys say that pictures and videos don't prove he passed along classified information.

"He seemed to be fascinated with the Chechen conflict and seemed to be supportive of the Chechen rebels," Amador said.

The defense, meanwhile, continued to press a point raised Wednesday, saying some ships from the battle group passed through the Strait of Hormuz on May 2, 2001, and others on May 3. The leaked documents indicated they would pass through the strait on April 29.

A retired admiral testified Wednesday that the plan did call for passing into another area on April 29 that is sometimes confused with the Strait of Hormuz.

In testimony Thursday, Navy Lt. Commander Jay Wylie, who served on the USS Benfold with Abu-Jihaad, agreed with a question by a defense attorney that the battle group document was "riddled" with inaccuracies. He said his initial impression was that details about the ship listed in the document came from a publication available to the public, but also said that publication would not predict ship movements.

Prosecutors acknowledge that they don't have direct proof that Abu-Jihaad leaked details of ship movements, but cite e-mails he exchanged with the suspected terrorism supporters.

Abu-Jihaad was charged in the same case that led to the 2004 arrest of Babar Ahmad, a British computer specialist accused of running Web sites to raise money, appeal for fighters and provide equipment such as gas masks and night vision goggles for terrorists. Ahmad is to be extradited to the U.S.

Abu-Jihaad is being prosecuted in New Haven because the federal investigation first focused on a Connecticut-based Internet service provider.

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