Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh (born 1985) is an American citizen who was convicted of terrorism-related offenses in 2017.[2][3][4] Al-Farekh joined al Qaeda and attended an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.[5]
Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1985 (age 38–39) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Abdullah al-Shami |
| Known for | convicted of material support of terrorism |
| Criminal charge | material support of terrorism |
| Criminal penalty | 45 years imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at ADX Florence supermax prison in Fremont County, Colorado. |
He started serving al Qaeda in 2007, until his capture by Pakistani security officials in 2014.[2] He was returned to the US, stood trial, and convicted in 2017. He was charged with material support of terrorism for a planning role in a 2009 attack on Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost. Al-Farekh's fingerprints were among those found on packing tape used in the vehicle-born improvised explosive devices used in the attack.
Zarein Ahmedzay, convicted in 2010, testified he had helped train Al-Farekh.[2]
Although he was born in Texas he spent most of his childhood in Dubai.[2] He is reported to have been radicalized by recordings of Anwar al-Awlaki's sermons, while attending University in Manitoba, Canada.[6]
Al Farekh moved to Winnipeg, in 2003, to live with his grandmother and uncle, to prepare to attend the University of Manitoba.[7]
After his radicalization he made his way to Pakistan with friends Ferid Imam and Maiwand Yar.[2][6][8] Al Farekh is reported to have married the daughter of an al Qaeda leader.
The Counter-terrorism project reported he worked under an al Qaeda leader named Abdul Hafeez, until his death, when he was promoted to a leadership role, himself.[4]
According to The New York Times, the discovery that Al-Farekh, an American citizen, was engaged with enemies of the US, triggered a debate over the legality of killing a US citizen by missiles fired from unmanned surveillance aircraft.[2][9][10] Alan Feuer reported both the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency pushed to have his name placed on a "kill list".
Al Farekh's sentence called for 45 years of imprisonment.[11]
References
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Theresa Waldrop (2017-09-30). "American found guilty of conspiring to support al Qaeda, attack a US base". CNN. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
Al Farekh was born in Houston and grew up in Dubai. According to the US Attorney's Office, he attended the University of Manitoba in Canada between 2005 and 2007, and there became friends with co-conspirators -- and later fellow al Qaeda members -- Ferid Imam and Maiwand Yar.
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Alan Feuer (2017-09-29). "Texas Man Convicted of Helping Attack U.S. Army Base in Afghanistan". The New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
When he was first identified as a Qaeda operative, his case prompted a debate within the U.S. government over whether it was morally and legally defensible to kill an American citizen overseas without a trial.
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"American Citizen Charged With Conspiring To Provide Material Support To Terrorists". Department of Justice. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
As alleged in the complaint, Farekh conspired with others to provide material support to terrorists and specifically to provide personnel to be used in support of efforts to kill American citizens and members of the U.S. military abroad.
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"Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh: U.S. citizen Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh is a former foreign fighter for al-Qaeda". Counter-extremism project. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
Farekh was born in Houston, Texas, in 1985 and grew up in Jordan, Dubai, and Canada, where he was raised in an 'upper-income environment.' Between 2005 and 2007, he attended college at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. Farekh spoke fluent Arabic, and joined the Muslim Student Association where he met Ferid Imam and Maiwand Yar, two fellow students. Together with others from the university, Farekh, Imam, and Yar traveled to Saudi Arabia on a religious hajj trip in December 2006. Thereafter, the three men self-radicalized and watched extremist videos that encouraged violent jihad, including Anwar al-Awlaki's sermons.
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Gregory D. Miller (June 2019). "Blurred Lines: The New 'Domestic' Terrorism" (PDF). Perspectives on Terrorism. 13 (3): 70. ISSN 2334-3745. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
An example of this is Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, a U.S. citizen who joined al-Qa'ida, helped in a January 2009 attack against a U.S. Army base in Afghanistan, and was convicted in 2017.[39] Considering this attack took place in a location different from the nationality of both the perpetrator and the victims, we would already label this international terrorism. So using the term 'homegrown' to apply also to foreign-inspired, domestic acts only adds to the confusion.
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Brendan Pierson (2017-09-29). "American convicted of supporting al Qaeda, aiding bomb attack". Reuters. New York City. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, 31, was convicted of charges that included conspiring to murder Americans and use a weapon of mass destruction, and supporting a foreign terrorist organization, according to John Marzulli, a spokesman for U.S. prosecutors in Brooklyn.
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Katie Nicholson; Vera-Lynn Kubinec (2018-02-28). "Family pleads for leniency for ex-Winnipegger convicted of terrorism charges: U.S. to seek life sentence, but grandmother calls Muhanad Al Farekh 'loving, caring'". CBC News. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
Al Farekh, 32, had moved to Winnipeg in 2003 to live with his grandmother and uncle in preparation for his university education.
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Colin Freeze; Greg McArthur (2011-03-15). "Mounties lay terror charges against missing Canadians". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
A third missing University of Manitoba student, Muhannad al-Farekh, remains unaccounted for, but faces no charges.
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Mark Mazzetti (2015-04-13). "Terrorism Case Renews Debate Over Drone Hits". The New York Times. Washington DC. p. A1. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
The denouement in the hunt for the man, Mohanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, who was arrested last year in Pakistan based on intelligence provided by the United States, came after a yearslong debate inside the government about whether to kill an American citizen overseas without trial — an extraordinary step taken only once before, when the Central Intelligence Agency killed the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in 2011.
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"Former Winnipegger Muhanad al-Farekh convicted of failed suicide bombing". CBC News. New York City. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
Farekh's case drew extra attention because of reports that American officials had initially debated whether to try to kill himin a drone strike, a step almost never taken against U.S. citizens. President Barack Obama's administration ultimately decided to try for a capture and civilian prosecution instead.
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Brendan Pierson (2018-03-13). "American sentenced to 45 years prison for role in al Qaeda bomb attack". Reuters. New York City. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
Prosecutors said an accomplice detonated one device, injuring multiple people including a pregnant woman, while Al Farekh's fingerprints were found on packing tape for the second device, which another accomplice carried but failed to detonate.