Iyman Faris

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Mugshot in 2003

Iyman Faris aka Mohammad Rauf^[1] (b. on 4 June, 1969 in Kashmir) is a former Ohio truck driver who was convicted of providing material support to Al Qaeda, for his role in a plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. His name has mistakenly been reported as Lyman Harris.

On 22 June, 2003, the United States Department of Justice revealed to Time that Faris had served as a double agent for the FBI for months. Faris was detained two weeks after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan on 1 March. Faris sent messages to his terrorist commanders by mobile phone and email from an FBI safe house in Virginia. A senior Bush administration official told Time, "He was sitting in the safe house making calls for us. It was a huge triumph."^[2]

1 Early history
2 Troubled life
3 Brooklyn Bridge plot
4 Working for FBI
5 Criminal charges
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Early history

Faris first entered the United States in 1994, and married Geneva Bowling the following year. In 1996 he was said to have received a speeding ticket, and Newsweek reports that in 1997 he overturned his vehicle on a highway entrance ramp.

Faris became a U.S. citizen in 1999, and allegedly returned to Pakistan the following year, and moved along to Afghanistan,where he is accused of having met Osama bin Laden.

While in the region, documents provided to the court show that Faris was asked to investigate the possibility of using an ultralight aircraft as an "escape plane" for bin Laden. He used an internet cafe in Karachi, Pakistan to researched ultralights and purchased 2000 sleeping bags.^[1]

[edit] Troubled life

At some point Faris was counseled by a local imam for suicidalism, and tried to jump off a bridge in Columbus, Ohio before he was restrained and taken for a psychiatric evaluation.^[3]

His five-year marriage ended in 2000, and he lived with a friend for several weeks, while looking for a new place to live - NBC reported a drunk driving conviction against him during this time.^[4]

Faris' ex-wife later said he had suffered from hearing imaginary voices, and sudden bouts of believing that somebody was choking him.

[edit] Brooklyn Bridge plot

In late 2001, while in Pakistan, Faris went to a travel agency to have expired airline tickets to Yemen re-issued for several unknown colleagues. Since he wasn't the original purchaser, he claimed to be a preacher from Tablighi Jamaat^[5]

In early 2002, Faris was introduced to an operative identified only as "C-2", and learned of a plot allegedly involving the simultaneous destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge by cutting through cables with blowtorches, and a second group that would derail a train in Washington D.C..

Faris' investigations into obtaining the necessary tools for the dual-operation involved asking a friend where he might purchase welding equipment, and researching the structure of the bridge on the internet. He concluded that the operation was unlikely, and sent a message back to Pakistan calling off the plot, stating that "The weather is too hot".

[edit] Working for FBI

On March 19 2003, Faris was visited by two FBI agents and an anti-terror officer, who confronted him with testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the results of an intercepted telephone call. Faris was reportedly friendly and accommodating, and agreed to let the agents search his apartment the following day.^[6]

He was then granted a deal to work as a double agent, reporting to the FBI. He was ordered to leave his Ohio home, and stay at a safe house in Virginia from which he would appear to continue discussions with his contacts, reporting the information back to the authorities.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Criminal charges

Faris was represented at trial by attorney Frederick Sinclair. On May 1st 2003, Faris pled guilty to both charges, for both conspiracy, and providing material support to Al Qaeda. The documents relating to the charges were not unsealed until June 19th. Shortly after this, it was revealed that Faris had in fact been a double agent working under orders from the FBI^[7]. Also in May, Faris had been stopped for speeding, a $200 fine, in Delaware County.^[8]

His sentencing was due August 1st, but delayed. On September 25th he sought to withdraw his guilty plea claiming that while he admitted to meeting with Khalid, he had merely been seeking information about Al-Qaeda for a book he wanted to write. He argued that Khalid was giving false information to authorities as revenge, for Faris refusing to be recruited into Al-Qaeda by the lieutenant. The appeal was disallowed^[9]. On 28 October he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema.^[10]

According to the New York Times, the plot was uncovered with assistance from the NSA eavesdropping program. This led to Faris' new lawyer David B. Smith announcing that they were looking into the potential for a direct lawsuit against George W. Bush who personally authorized the illegal wiretaps.

In 2004, Nuradin Abdi, charged with plotting to detonate explosives in shopping centres, said that Faris had picked him up from Port Columbus International Airport.^[11]