Hamid Hayat

2008-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

The FBI's Jihad, a short film

2008-01-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

Talked with Wazhma Mojaddidi on the phone, today. She told me Hamid Hayat was moved to a prison in Bakersfield about four months ago, and then about month and a half ago he was moved to Indiana. With Hamid's family in Lodi, this several-thousand-miles move must have created a major inconvenience for the visitors.
Is there hope for Hamid? Yes, there is. And the hope is called Dennis Riordan, the appellate attorney who is filing appeal. Riordan is a topnotch lawyer who has taken Hamid’s case out of the goodness of his heart. Unfortunately, Riordan is Hamid’s last hope.

(Dennis Riordan’s photo, from abcnews, courtesy of AP Photo/Ben Margot.)

2007-04-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Hoping to meet Maulana Adil Khan
Last year, Frontline team (while working on the documentary 'The Enemy Within') asked Maulana Adil Khan for an interview. Adil Khan refused saying he would give interview to a Pakistani journalist only. Today, yours truly made a trip to Jamia Farooqia where Adil Khan teaches. Adil Khan was in Islamabad; I was asked to check back later.

2007-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Convicted on four counts

Read this press release from the Department of Justice
http://sacramento.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/hamidhayat042506.htm

“April 25, 2006 United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Drew Parenti announced today that a federal jury convicted HAMID HAYAT, age 23, of Lodi, California with one count of providing material support or resources to terrorists and three counts of making false statements to the FBI in matters related to international/domestic terrorism.”

Look into this case more carefully and you would find that the four counts are actually all about the same thing, Hamid Hayat’s confession that he attended a training camp.
It is like I interrogate you on Day 1 and ask you if you attended a terrorist training camp, and you deny that charge. I interrogate you again on Day 2 and ask the same thing. Once more you deny. Day 3, the same thing, and your response too is the same. Day 4, I have a mega interrogation session with you and I keep telling you that you indeed attended a camp, and then you break down and say, “Yes, I did.” Well, that confession becomes the first count, and what you told me on Day 1, 2, and 3 become three counts of lying to me. Amazing how it works!

2007-01-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Different people, different rules

Compare two confessions, one is taken at its face value and the confessant is convicted based on that confession alone. In the other case the confession is not believed in, corroboration of confession is sought, and ultimately the confessant is told he was lying. We are talking about the way the judicial system handled Hamid Hayat and John Carr’s confessions. John Mark Karr confessed he killed JonBenet Ramsey, but the judicial system said, ‘No, John. We are not going to believe you. We have to independently verify your claim.' A DNA test was done; the test came out negative and John Carr was off the hook, at least on this count.
And then we have the confession of Hamid Hayat that he attended a terrorist training camp. But in this case nobody bothers to corroborate. No evidence is shown if the camp really existed, if Hamid Hayat indeed got training during the time he said he was there. The confession is believed in, even when the confessant said the confession was obtained from him, under duress.
Who says Justice is blind?

2006-12-01T23:40:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas in Sacramento County Jail

Spoke with Wazhma Mojaddidi, Hamid Hayat's lawyer, in the afternoon. Wazhma told me the defense has submitted a brief on October 20; now prosecution will submit its observations in December. There is a court hearing on January 19, 2007. Hamid Hayat will remain in prison for the foreseeable future. What a pity!

2006-09-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Still in Pakistan

Muhammad Ismail and his son Jabir (Jaber) Ismail's ordeal has been made public by US newspapers. It looks like they have been given permission to fly back to the US.

This morning I called Ismail. I called him on his cell phone in Pakistan. It was almost 10 am California time (10 at night in Pakistan). Ismail was a bit disoriented by my call--he started speaking Pushto, I wonder if I disturbed him in sleep. I told him who I was; he remembered that I had visited Behboudi. But he was very scared to say anything. When I asked him when was he coming back, he told me I should talk to his attorney!!! So, this is what FBI has accomplished. It has successfully intimidated a particular section of our population. Not sure if this intimidation works on die-hard terrorists, but it has definitely succeeded in scaring simple folks who are now wary of anyone talking to them, who now believe crafty agents can easily trap them. Here is federal prosecutor Larry Brown explaining how putting broad limelight on individuals stops them from carrying out terrorist acts.

2006-09-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here are Federal Prosecutor McGregor Scott's comments after Lodi arrests.

------
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae/PRESS/pdf_2005/06-08-05scott's.PDF

Remarks of U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott
June 8, 2005 1:30 p.m.
Press Conference re Lodi Investigation
Good Afternoon, my name is McGregor Scott, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
California. I am joined by FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter and Chuck Demore of the
Bureau of Immigration Customs Enforcement. Also with me is the lead prosecutor on the
investigation, Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Lapham.
Protecting America from potential terrorist attacks is the top mission of the United States
Department of Justice. In recent days, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security and other allied federal, state, and local agencies have worked around the
clock to follow-up on information received pertaining to individuals in the community of Lodi,
California, located 35 miles south of Sacramento.
Our collective efforts have resulted in the arrests of Hamid Hayat, of Lodi, and his father Umer
Hayat, also of Lodi, California. Complaints have been filed against both men for violations of
18 U.S.C. 1001, making false statements to the FBI. Copies of these complaints are available in
the back of the room and have been posted at our office’s website. Umer Hayat was arraigned
yesterday and ordered detain by Magistrate Judge Peter Nowinski. Hamid Hayat is scheduled to
be arraigned this Friday, June 10, at 2:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Nowinski.
Two others have been detained by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on
immigration violations. They are Muhammed Adil Khan and Shabbir Ahmed, both residents of
Lodi, California.
Recent events were prompted by the return of Hamid Hayat to this country from Pakistan. Mr.
Hayat had been on the “No Fly” list, but was downgraded to the “Selectee List” after having
been interviewed in Japan.
Last Friday, June 3, Hamid Hayat was interviewed by special agents of the FBI here in
Sacramento. During that interview, Mr. Hayat denied that he had ever attended any terrorist
training camp or school, and stated he was not a Jihadi member, and that he would never be
involved with anything related to terrorism.
The following day, Mr. Hayat willingly underwent a polygraph, and his answers were found
indicative of deception. After approximately two more hours of questioning, Hamid admitted
that he had, in fact, attended a Jihadist training camp in Pakistan for approximately 6 months in
2003-2004. He also confirmed that the camp was run by Al-Qaeda and that they were being
Page 2
trained on how to kill Americans. He further stated that he specifically requested to come to the
United States to carry out his Jihadi mission.
Hamid Hayat’s father, Umer Hayat, also was interviewed on June 3 by the FBI. During that
interview, he denied that his son was a terrorist. On June 4, when confronted by the admissions
his son had made, Umer Hayat confirmed that his son had attended a Jihadist training camp in
Pakistan in 2003-2004. He also admitted that he paid for his son’s flight and provided him with
an allowance of $100 per month, knowing his son intended to attend a jihadi training camp.
These are allegations only and both men are presumed innocent. I wish to emphasize that this
investigation is ongoing at this time and evolving literally by the moment. We fully anticipate
that there will be further developments in the hours and days ahead. We fully intend to keep the
media and the community informed of these developments.
Let me say a few words about the nature of this investigation. Special Agent Slotter, Special
Agent Demore and I wish to emphasize that an investigation of this nature is not taken lightly.
Every step we have taken-and will take-- is examined, reexamined and vetted by the highest
levels of the Justice Department. The multiple layers of review are designed to ensure that people
are not improperly accused of potential terrorist activities. They are also designed to ensure full
and complete compliance with the United States Constitution and the laws set forth by Congress.
In this investigation, we have done precisely that. Based on the information we have, we are
acting absolutely appropriately and responsibly in taking the actions that we have.
I wish also to reassure our community that we are vigorously pursuing this matter. No resource
or effort is being spared in running all the information we have to ground.
I would also like to make a statement to the Muslim community in Lodi and elsewhere. We have
the greatest respect for the Muslim faith and the Muslim members of our community. These are
criminal charges and immigration charges against certain individuals, not a religion or people in
a community. And to those who would seek to retaliate against Muslim persons for the actions
at issue in this case, Special Agent Slotter and I have one simple word of advice: Don’t. As our
agencies have long demonstrated, we have zero tolerance for hate crimes and acts of retaliation.
----

2006-09-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Cross-cultural/linguistic faux pas

August 25 was the first time I came face to face with Umer Hayat. After his sentencing Umer spoke to the Press in his wanting English. What is my impression of the man? I think he is a man of few words, and most probably fewer still thoughts.
Very predictably the question about the terrorist training camp came up. Why did he tell FBI agents about a camp that he now claims was totally fictional? In his reply Umer said, ‘I just made up stories. That’s all. It’s my habit.’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg72DM4N358

Whereas the above statement sounds like a lame excuse I believe the problem lies in Umer’s limited command of English. I can understand how frivolous remarks like these are made in Urdu, and probably in Pushto too, and to Urdu listening ears they sound OK and make sense. But this is not how remarks of this nature are made in English and specially in such a serious matter. In English he could say something like, “I deeply regret what happened in that interrogation. I just don’t know how I did it. I was tired, I was fatigued, and they kept asking me questions, so I just made up stories. And it was so stupid of me. I got myself in trouble because of my stupidity. And the FBI recorded all that. Then it was too late. There was no way for me to turn back. I don’t know how to put it. It was just plain stupidity on my part to get myself in trouble in that manner.”

Johnny Griffin, Umer’s attorney, has a sharp aid, Silky Sahnan, who speaks Urdu/ Hindi. Silky needs to work with Umer on such cross-cultural/linguistic issues.

2006-09-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the Pakistanis one would find in Lodi, California come from either the village of Behboudi or Shinka. After staying overnight in Behboudi we made a short trip to Shinka. Munawwar drove the car while Jabir Ismail and his friends gave us the guided tour.

2006-09-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

East and West, side by side

Although I have been to a number of cities in Pakistan, before my March visit I had never been to Behboudi or any nearby town. I needed a person familiar with the area. Through a long process I got introduced to Munawwar Hussain Awan who worked in the circulation department of Daily Dawn. Munawwar was in charge of newspaper delivery operation in Hattiyan and surrounding areas. We rented a car from Rawalpindi and headed off to Behboudi.

People in Behboudi are all related to each other. These Chach people have been living here for a very long time. Economic forces have made some of them go to foreign lands where they encounter cultures very different from their own. For the emigrants among these Chach people the only way to retain their identity and have a clear understanding of their roots is to bring their children back to Behboudi. In Behboudi you will find kids brought back from the UK or USA, by their parents. These children live there for long periods of time. I talked to a few of them and tried to understand if they felt living disjointed lives; if they were torn between two very different value systems.

Chach Pathans are very hospitable people. News of our arrival spread fast in the village. We were taken to a hujra/baithak (guest reception building) where people gathered to talk to us. Everyone had a different variation of the same question, ‘Would Hamid Hayat be freed?’ At night Munawwar and I were put in a modern house. Here Munawwar is seen enjoying Chach hospitality.

2006-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

After Umer Hayat's sentencing on Friday, August 25, Prosecutor Larry Brown spoke on behalf of McGregor Scott. Here is a video showing his response to a very honest, innocent question.

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-MmKc8rVpQ

2006-08-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

Shameless Plagiarism

First read this SF Chronicle report from August 26.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/26/MNGQ5KPVV91.DTL

2 Lodi residents refused entry back into U.S.

The federal government has barred two relatives of a Lodi man convicted of supporting terrorists from returning to the country after a lengthy stay in Pakistan, placing the U.S. citizens in an extraordinary legal limbo.

Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with a crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi cherry packer who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp.

Federal authorities said Friday that the men, both Lodi residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan.

The men and three relatives had been in Pakistan for more than four years and tried to return to the United States on April 21 as a federal jury in Sacramento deliberated Hayat's fate. But they were pulled aside during a layover in Hong Kong and told there was a problem with their passports, said Julia Harumi Mass, their attorney.

The father and son were forced to pay for a flight back to Islamabad because they were on the government's "no-fly" list, Mass said. Muhammad Ismail's wife, teenage daughter and younger son, who were not on the list, continued on to the United States.

Neither Muhammad nor Jaber Ismail holds dual Pakistani citizenship, Mass said.

"We haven't heard about this happening -- U.S. citizens being refused the right to return from abroad without any charges or any basis," said Mass, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

-------
Then read this Dawn, Pakistan story from August 28.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/08/28/top14.htm

Two barred from returning to US

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 27: The US government has barred two relatives of Hamid Hayat, a Pakistani-American convicted of supporting terrorists from returning to the country after a long stay in Pakistan.

Mohammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalised citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with any crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, 23, who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp.

US authorities said that the men, both Lodi residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan.

The men and three relatives had been in Pakistan for more than four years and tried to return to the United States on April 21 as a federal jury in Sacramento deliberated Hayat's fate.

But they were pulled aside during a layover in Hong Kong and told there was a problem with their passports, said Julia Harumi Mass, their attorney.

------

What a glaring example of shameless plagiarism! I know one Abdus Sattar Ghazali who is a serious man, but this joker got to be someone else. After making a few changes in the first paragraph of the story he literally copied everything else from the Chronicle and got it published under his name. I understand that Dawn editors don’t read all international newspapers so I am going to bring this to their attention. The Dawn editors owe an apology to the San Francisco Chronicle and they need to fire this cheater.

2006-08-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

Diary of August 25, 2006

Strange how things work out for me. Even with all the mishaps I encountered, it turned out to be a productive day.

Najeeb got directions to the courthouse from the Internet and gave them to me. There were inaccuracies in those directions once you get closer to Sacramento. I left home at 6:15 am and reached Sacramento around quarter past eight, but then it took me a while to find the right way to reach the court on I street. When I reached the court it was 8:40. I could not find street parking so I parked in the garage facing the courthouse. I needed to first attend the court session—obviously I could not take my cameras with me. That meant I needed to first go empty handed in the court and after hearing the sentence run back to my car in the parking structure, grab the cameras, and run back to the court building to be there on time for Umer Hayat’s press conference.

As I entered the court building I found Demian Bulwa of San Francisco Chronicle in the lobby. I greeted him; he could not remember my name—although we had met in Lodi, he talked with me on the phone when I was in Karachi, and had also communicated with me via email. Busy reporters do meet a lot of people and it is understandable that they cannot remember everybody’s name.

My breakfast that morning had a lot of fluid in it so I needed to use the restroom right away. After using the restroom I took the elevator to the 13th floor. Umer Hayat was to be sentenced in courtroom number 10 on the 13th floor. There were still a few minutes till 9 when I entered the courtroom. I read the list of cases to be heard that morning. Umer Hayat vs. US Government was on top of the list. In the courtroom clerks were chatting with each other; there was a small audience mostly comprised of young men and women. I liked the grandeur of the court décor. Heavy wood furniture commanded respect and made you wear a very serious face in that room. I thought about the evolution of courtroom architectural design and imagined the discussions architect of that building must have had with the contractors. Soon the room started to fill up. Attorneys in business suits holding files and briefcases showed up. Spectators too started taking seats. Umer Hayat entered along with his attorneys. Then all of us were asked to rise. Judge Burrell entered the room and the court came to order. I could not understand most of the court proceedings not only because of my lack of knowledge in legal matter but also because I had a hard time hearing Judge Burrell. But I understood that part when Judge Burrell asked Umer Hayat if he wanted to say anything before Judge would read the sentence. Umer Hayat had a female interpreter on his right hand side. This interpreter would start whispering in Umer’s ear even before the Judge would finish his sentence. Either she had excellent skills to hear and speak at the same time, or she already knew what the judge was going to say. I was very disappointed to hear from the interpreter that Umer Hayat did not wish to say anything before the sentence. I thought a short speech in Pushto would have been very effective; such a speech in Umer’s native tongue would have highlighted the language-divide between the prosecutor and the accused. I also thought Umer was inappropriately dressed for the occasion. Instead of wearing a suit he should have worn shalwar-qameez along with a turban on his head. Just imagine the drama of watching this foreign-born man, dressed in strange clothes, making a speech in an incomprehensible language!

As soon as the sentence was read and court moved on to the next matter I left. I hurriedly took the elevator down, and then ran out of the building to go to my car in the parking structure. When I came back with my cameras, video and still, all the TV station cameras had lined up a few feet away from the building entrance. I too waited with them.

2006-08-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Stranded US Citizens

I met Mohammad Ismail and his son Jabir Ismail in their village of origin Behboudi, not too far from the town of Hattiyan. They are both U.S. citizens and residents of Lodi. When I met them on March 11 of this year Jabir told me he had completed his Hafza (memorizing Quran); father and son were getting ready to go back to the US. I asked them if they were aware of the difficulties they might face when entering the US. When I asked them that question what I had in my mind were possibilities of hold up at the US port of entry and grueling interrogation. I never thought they would be on some kind of a no-fly list and would not be allowed to fly back to their country of citizenship.

Demain Bulwa broke this story in San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/26/MNGQ5KPVV91.DTL

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, August 26, 2006 (SF Chronicle)
2 Lodi residents refused entry back into U.S.
Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer

(08-26) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- The federal government has barred
two
relatives of a Lodi man convicted of supporting terrorists from
returning
to the country after a lengthy stay in Pakistan, placing the U.S.
citizens
in an extraordinary legal limbo.
Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan,
and
his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States,
have
not been charged with a crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin
of
Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi cherry packer who was convicted in
April
of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp............

----------------------------------------------------------------------

So, what is going on?
Presumably there is a “no-fly list” that “anti-terrorism officials” can put suspected ‘terrorists’ on? If you are unlucky to be on that list you cannot fly. You can probably fly from one terrorist county to another, for example Venezuela to Syria, or Iran to North Korea, but you cannot come closer to the US or countries that the US has influence on.
But then other questions:
What is the legality of that ‘no-fly list’?
Under what suspicion people are put on that list?
What toll free number to call to find out if you are on that no-fly list?
If someone gets on that list by ‘mistake’, what is the procedure to get off the list?

Are answers to all the above qeustions written down somewhere so that there can be some kind of accountability of public servants? Or is it asking too much in these trying times when teeming bands of terrorists are lurking in shadows ready to attack us and our government is hell-bent to protect us?

OK, sarcasm aside what do I see here?

I see mistrust at both ends. That the FBI is distrustful of bearded young men with skull caps, is a given. Lodi Muslim community’s distrust of FBI and the US Government is a little hard to understand, but go to Lodi a couple of times, talk to Muslim community members there, and you would see their point of view. They believe they have been punished without a crime. They believe Hamid Hayat is completely innocent. They believe they have been cheated by FBI. They believe FBI sent a spy who trapped the dumbest person among them. They believe FBI can tire you with interrogation, can record hours and hours of conversation, can then put together a “proof” of lying to FBI, and can then arrest you for that ‘crime’. Most probably this is the reason why Jabir is evading an interrogation by FBI in Islamabad. And who can blame him?

Interrogation:
What is your name?
My name is Suleiman.
Is that it, ‘Suleiman’, or you have another name too?
My name is Suleiman Ahmad.
But you told us your name was Suleiman, and now you are telling us something different. Do you know that lying to federal agents is a crime punishable by law?

[Though in most of the Muslim world the J name is written as ‘Jaber’, in Pakistan it is mostly written as ‘Jabir’. I have to find out how younger Ismail spells his name. Another clarification: In Muslim faith people are generally not given any of Allah’s ninety-nine names (Jabir, Qadir, Hakim, Rahman, Raheem, etc.); instead, the prefix ‘Abdul’ (one who worships) is added to one of the 99 names in calling a person, so a man can be called Abdul Rahman (one who worships Rahman), but not Rahman; this logic is most evident in the name Abdullah (one who worships Allah). Having said all this, lately I have seen cases when people do go by Rahman, Hakim, Qadir, etc.]

2006-08-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

This one is for you, Hamid Hayat

It was last year that I became involved in analyzing the Lodi terror probe story. The person who initiated me on this was Najeeb Hasan. Najeeb is a young journalist of Pakistani descent. Najeeb had been visiting Lodi and interviewing community members. After Najeeb made contact with me and suggested that we make a documentary film on the case, I started going to Lodi with him. Names erstwhile coldly printed in newspaper stories and read sans empathy started to come alive. Ever since my first trip to Lodi I have often thought of Hamid Hayat. How does he feel in that jail cell? How is his one day different than the other? Does he get to read news about himself? What goes in his mind these days?

This blog is dedicated to Hamid Hayat. I'll tell you his story as it slowly unravels.