Update: Trial Begins for Sabir

Rafiq Abdus Sabir, a doctor accused of offering to treat injured al-Qaida fighters was manipulated by a longtime friend seeking to make extra money, according to his defense lawyer, Edward Wilford.^[1] Sabir is "being branded as a terrorist [which] is something that's completely false, [and he] has seen his American dream turn into a nightmare," the attorney said.^[2]

Sabir is charged with conspiring to provide material support or resources to a terrorist group from October 2003 through May 2005.^[3] Wilford asserted that it was the musician, Tarik Shah, who was one of Sabir's friends and a martial arts expert, who sought out the apparent al-Qaida ties in desperation for some extra money; by offering Sabir as a possible associate, Shah was giving those he believed would be his handlers an "enticement" to take him on.^[4]

He has been held without bail since the government said it had recorded conversations of him pledging to help al-Qaida as he met with an FBI agent posing as an al-Qaida recruiter.^[5] If convicted, Sabir could face up to 30 years in prison.^[6]

Prosecutors say Sabir was arrested soon after a 2005 meeting in a Bronx apartment in which he agreed to treat al-Qaida fighters while in Saudi Arabia, where he worked as a physician at a military hospital.^[7] For more on Sabir see our previous post, here.

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^[1] Nahal Toosi, Doctor's New York Terror Aid Trial Opens, Associated Press Newswire, Apr. 25, 2007, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services File.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.