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Jury deliberations begin in Houston Al-Qaeda member trial

September 27, 2017 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh after his arrest in 2015. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
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Jury deliberations began Wednesday at Brooklyn’s federal court in the trial of a Houston al-Qaeda member accused of helping bomb a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

With the federal courthouse in Brooklyn being a magnet for terrorism cases, as it has built an experienced prosecution team and a strong track record of convictions, the decision in this case could bolster its record or taint it.

Before jurors were sent out of the courtroom to decide the fate of Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, Judge Brian Cogan read aloud a 166-page explanation of the task ahead of them.

Deliberations were temporarily stalled when a letter from the defendant’s father in which he asked to speak with his son reached the judge.

Cogan denied the request for security reasons.

“I hope there is an opportunity for them to meet in the future,” Cogan said.

The nine-count indictment includes charges that Al Farekh, 31, conspired to murder U.S. citizens and help send material support to a terrorist organization, namely al-Qaeda.

A stark contrast to the filled-rows of audience member earlier during the trial, a handful of people sat in the courtroom, including Al Farekh’s father sitting in the front row.

The charges are in connection with Al Farekh’s al-Qaeda membership from 2007 to 2014 and an attack to destroy the U.S. Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan, in 2009.

Prosecutors brought numerous forensic and testimonial pieces of evidence to closing statements Tuesday in a nearly two-hour argument.

“We ask you to look at the evidence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Pravda told jurors during his closing arguments. “There’s only one conclusion that you can reach.”

But defense attorney David Ruhnke said at opening statements two weeks ago that the evidence was inconclusive and testimonies from former terrorist government cooperators should be taken lightly.

Cogan also told jurors Wednesday that whether they believe witnesses or not is up to them.

Al Farekh’s fingerprints were allegedly found on packing tape used to bind a bomb to a truck expected to destroy the military base, prosecutors said.

As two trucks loaded with bombs approached the base on Jan. 19, 2009, the first one detonated, injuring a U.S. soldier and pregnant woman, among others in the base.

A second truck loaded with 7,500 pounds of explosives got stuck in a crater that was created by the first explosion, thwarting the attempt.

The driver of the second vehicle was shot dead by base security and the driver of the first vehicle died in the blast.

Al Farekh grew up in Dubai before moving to Canada to attend the University of Manitoba from 2005 to 2007, court filings show.

There he joined the Muslim Students Association and became friends with co-conspirators Ferid Imam and Maiwand Yar, with whom he went to Pakistan in 2007.

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