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Two arraigned on false ID charges involving hijackersALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A U.S. District judge on Wednesday ordered held without bond a man who allegedly helped suicide hijackers obtain bogus Virginia driver's licenses. A woman who served as notary public for the applications was released under tight restrictions and $25,000 bond.
Luis Martinez-Flores, an immigrant from El Salvador, will stand trial on a charge of identity fraud for allegedly helping Saudi Arabian nationals Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar obtain drivers licenses just six weeks before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Hanjour and Almihdhar are believed to be among those who hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 after it took off from Washington Dulles International Airport and crashed it into the Pentagon. Court papers say Martinez-Flores certified that the two men lived at an address where he once lived in Falls Church, a Virginia suburb south of Washington. The FBI has said Martinez-Flores admitted vouching for the two Saudis, but said he apparently did so without knowledge of their intentions. The government claims Martinez-Flores has been in the United States illegally since 1994. Kenys Galicia, a legal secretary and notary, is charged with notarizing documents for suspected hijackers Abdul Aziz Al Omari and Ahmed Saleh Al Ghamdi. She was released on conditions that include wearing an electronic monitor to showing her whereabouts. "They apparently had no idea they were dealing with terrorists," said a federal law enforcement official familiar with the case. Al Omari was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 and Al Ghamdi was on United Airlines Flight 175. Both flights were hijacked after takeoff from Boston and crashed into the World Trade Center. -- CNN Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report. |
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