TerrorismMichigan terrorism case hinges on informant’s testimony

Mohammad Hassan Hamdan of Dearborn Heights, Michigan was arrested on Sunday, 16 March 2014, at Detroit Metro Airport by FBI agents who claim that Hamdan told an undercover informant of his plans to travel to Lebanon to join Hezbollah as a fighter supporting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. government classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, so appearing before U.S. Magistrate R. Steven Whalen at the U.S. District Court in Detroit on Monday, 17 March 2014, Hamdan was charged with “attempting to provide material support (money, goods, or services) to a foreign terrorist organization,” a charge that can result in up to fifteen years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Hamdan moved to the United States in 2007 from Lebanon, and applied for his U.S. citizenship in November 2013. In the FBI complaint, “SOURCE 1,” the unnamed FBI informant, mentioned that on 12 September 2013 Hamdan discussed his plans to travel to Syria by Christmas 2013 to fight alongside Hezbollah. Hamdan also mentioned that he could not travel to Lebanon because his sister held his Lebanese passport, aware of Hamdan’s intentions.

The Chicago Monitor reports that Hamdan’s family has disputed this charge and claim that Hamdan had suspected he had been communicating with an informant. Rehab Beydoun, Hamdan’s aunt, told WWJ Newsradio 950 recently that her nephew was set up by a local man who tipped federal investigators. “He was telling us, this guy is up to something, he keeps calling me, asking me questions. Why would he do that? So, he wanted to play a game with him to see where he’s going, and he got in trouble,” she said.

Monira Beydoun, Hamdan’s mother told Arab-American News on that Hamdan is physically incapable of joining Hezbollah because he suffers from a dysfunctional lung and she has medical records to prove it. Beydoun adds that the informant is a friend of Hamdan’s ex-girlfriend and that Hamdan purposely made statements to him about joining Hezbollah in an attempt to appear suicidal so the informant could relay the message to Hamdan’s ex-girlfriend and perhaps gain sympathy.

The FBI revealed in court that the informant had previously received payments and was hired because he wanted to amend for some difficulties with the U.S. government. Also noted is that the informant is receiving an immigration benefit for his services.

Hamdan’s defense attorney Art Weiss says that Hamdan is ”adamant that he didn’t do anything wrong.” Hamdan has since told the FBI that he had planned to temporarily visit Lebanon for dental work. According to Weiss, the informant was persistent in trying to set up Hamdan to express his support and involvement with Hezbollah even when Hamdan tried to shift the topic of their recorded conversations.

Whalen has requested additional time to review the evidence and testimonies before deciding if the case should proceed. Since the NYPD surveillance of Muslim community in New York, Arab-American and Muslim communities throughout the country have been skeptical of law enforcement when members of their communities are charged based on statements of law enforcement informants.

A joint FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office press release, after listing the serious charges and penalties, downplayed the case, saying the “criminal complaint contains merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”