Pair of Lebanese on trial for allegedly raising funds on behalf of resistance

Cilina Nasser
Daily Star staff

Former associates of a Lebanese man accused of funding Hezbollah from the United States testified Wednesday that the defendant had threatened to kill anyone who told US authorities he was connected to the resistance party.
“He said: ‘If someone lies and says I’m Hezbollah, they will deal with me in Lebanon’,” Samir Debk, a former associate, testified in a US Federal District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Debk was referring to Mohammed Hammoud, who is charged along with his brother, Shawki, of taking part in a cell that allegedly smuggled cigarettes in the United States, laundered money, and provided material support to Hezbollah. The defendants are also accused of immigration fraud.
Debk, who faced similar charges in the original indictment, pleaded guilty in September 2000 to immigration violations and is now cooperating with prosecutors. He said that Mohammed Hammoud’s threat came after the two were arrested and jailed in Charlotte in July 2000.
For its part, Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any involvement with the people charged in the case, saying it has no cells outside Lebanon.
Hezbollah MP Abdullah Qassir on Thursday described the accusations as “false.” He said that US accusations targeting Hezbollah “whether on the organizational level or the individual level are not based on facts and realities, but rather on political motives.”
The Hezbollah MP, who spoke during a news conference on an unrelated issue, added that: “These accusations aim at exerting pressure on Hezbollah so that (the party) would change its stands on supporting the intifada. And that will not happen.”
But Debk, who was jailed for 18 months before being deported, said that Hezbollah members here interrogated him upon his return to Lebanon. He testified that members instructed him to report to a location under the party’s control. Asked by prosecutors why he went, Debk said: “I had to go. I have no choice when dealing with Hezbollah.”
Over two weeks, Debk said he was interrogated three times, the first time for seven hours. He said the questioning became increasingly specific, with interrogators wanting to know the details of the criminal case against him, the Hammouds and others in the United States.
“They want to know everything about this case, the details and who was working with the American government,” Debk said. “I told them I don’t know.”
Another defendant-turned-government witness involved in the case, Said Harb, told jurors that he was also interrogated by Hezbollah after being deported to Lebanon. Harb testified that his interrogators wanted him to describe the federal courthouse in Charlotte, including its proximity to the county jail. Also asked why he agreed to the questioning, Harb said: “I’m scared. If they want they can take me out.”
The trial of the Hammoud brothers has entered its fourth week. If convicted, Mohammed Hammoud, who is accused of leading the cell, could face up to 30 years in prison. He is the first person to be tried under a 1996 US anti-terrorism law banning material support to any foreign body which the US government deems a terrorist organization. His brother could face 14 years in prison.
According to The Charlotte Observer online edition, Harb, who said as part of his plea bargain that he provided Hezbollah with material support, told jurors Monday that Mohammed Hammoud sought donations for Hezbollah on a weekly basis during prayer meetings.
“Hezbollah was fighting the enemy … Mohammed would ask if anybody wanted to donate. He had an envelope … Any money Mohammed generated here would go to Hezbollah,” the paper quote Harb as saying.
Harb also said he carried an envelope with $3,500 in checks from Mohammed Hammoud to Sheikh Abbas Harakeh, whom he identified as a Hezbollah military commander in Lebanon.
But Hammoud’s lawyer, Deke Falls, tried to discredit Harb’s testimony by focusing on his deal with prosecutors.
“The deal would keep Harb in prison for six-and-a-half to eight years, and the government, in exchange for Harb’s guilty plea and testimony, agreed to bring his family to the United States from Lebanon,” the attorney was quoted as saying in the Charlotte daily.
The paper also stated Wednesday that “Harb’s parents, brothers and sisters were whisked out of Lebanon about two months ago and brought to the United States.”
This was confirmed by a phone call made by The Daily Star to Harb’s brother, Ahmad. An unidentified woman said she had bought the number of Ahmad’s mobile “before he left with the whole family to America.” The woman said Ahmad’s application for immigration was accepted and that he left with his fiancee, but that she didn’t know if his parents were gone too.
On Tuesday, jurors in the trial of the Hammoud brothers read the transcripts of Canadian intelligence wiretaps. Prosecutors believe the transcripts reveal a conspiracy to purchase and send to Hezbollah equipment that could be used for military purposes.
Alleged members of the cell are heard talking about purchasing and transporting to Lebanon laptop computers, binoculars, blasting equipment, laser range finders, global positioning devices, stun guns and ultrasonic dog repellers, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Neither Mohammed Hammoud nor his brother were caught on any of the wiretaps, but Harb was mentioned repeatedly. ­ With agencies

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