Sabir Convicted of Providing Material Support

Dr. Rafiq Abdus Sabir has been on trial for pledging to use his medical expertise to help al-Qaeda.^[1] Monday he was convicted of providing material support to terrorists by agreeing to treat injured al-Qaeda fighters so they could return to Iraq to battle Americans.^[2]

The case centered on an oath that Sabir and his close friend Tarik Shah made in Arabic in May 2005 to an undercover FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda recruiter.^[3] He taped both men pledging support to the militant Islamic group and "Sheikh Osama."^[4] Sabir was convicted in a U.S. district court in Manhattan, after a three-week trial that featured testimony from him and Ali Soufan, the undercover FBI agent who posed as the al-Qaeda recruiter in a sting operation that led to Sabir’s arrest.^[5]

Sabir, testified during the trial that he did not realize during the meeting that "Osama" referred to Osama bin Laden and had misunderstood the pronunciation of "al Qaeda" due to his limited Arabic; he thought the oath was a “bayat” -- a general Islamic declaration -- and only agreed to help treat his "brothers" out of his medical obligations to treat all people.^[6]

Prosecutors, however, questioned why Sabir never realized or inquired as to who he was pledging allegiance to when al Qaeda was mentioned during the four-hour meeting upwards of 14 times and "Sheikh Osama" up to 10 times.^[7]

The charges against Sabir, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, carry a potential maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.^[8] Shah pleaded guilty just before the trial to providing material support to a terrorist organization and agreed to serve 15 years in prison, though he has not been formally sentenced.^[9]

We have followed this case and previously discussed the crime of providing material support on this blog here and here.

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^[1] Larry Neumeister, Doctor Convicted of Supporting al-Qaida, Associated Press Newswire, May 22, 2007, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services
^[2] Id.
^[3] Edith Honan, U.S. doctor convicted of supporting al Qaeda, Reuters Newswire, May 22, 2007, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Neumeister, supra note 1.
^[6] Honan, supra note 3.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.