Mohamed

May 28, 1999
Web posted at: 1:42 a.m. EDT (0542 GMT)

In this story: Attorney complains of prison conditions Mohamed served at Fort Bragg One of two U.S. citizens indicted in conspiracy RELATED STORIES, SITES

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A former U.S. Army sergeant indicted for conspiracy in connection with the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania last August was arraigned Thursday.

During a brief court appearance, 46-year-old Ali Mohamed refused to enter a plea because he considers the charges "a political indictment," according to his attorney. A plea of not guilty was entered for Mohamed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Dolinger.

James Roth, the court-appointed attorney for Mohamed, said after the hearing that his client refused to enter a plea because he had "difficulty recognizing the jurisdiction of the court." He said Mohamed did not believe he could get a fair trial.

Attorney complains of prison conditions

Roth asked the judge about bail for his client during the arraignment, and made reference to prison conditions for Mohamed. Both issues were referred to Judge Leonard Sand, who is presiding over the cases of all the suspects charged in the embassy bombings case.

After the arraignment, Roth told reporters his client has not been allowed to make all the phone calls he's entitled to. He also said that Mohamed, who has been in custody since September, has not once been able to go outside for fresh air.

Mohamed was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month for allegedly participating in a conspiracy led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden to kill Americans abroad.

The indictment charges Mohamed acted with others, including members of bin Laden's group al Qaeda, to plan the murders of U.S. military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia, and last August's bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mohamed served at Fort Bragg

Mohamed, a former major in the Egyptian army, was granted a visa to enter the United States in 1985 and became an American citizen. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1986, and was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, until 1989.

Mohamed's duties at Fort Bragg ranged from clerical work to instructing soldiers headed to the Middle East on Islamic culture. He joined the U.S. Army Reserves following his term of active duty.

The indictment charges that at least as early as 1989, bin Laden and others began efforts to recruit U.S. citizens, including Mohamed, to help al Qaeda carry out operations in the West.

It also charged that as early as 1990, Mohamed provided military and intelligence training for al Qaeda members in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan. The indictment further charges that Mohamed, with others, helped bin Laden in 1991 to move from Pakistan to Sudan.

Mohamed's name first surfaced publicly at the 1995 Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman "terror trial" over the plot to blow up New York City landmarks. A defense witness testified that starting in 1989 Mohamed provided military training to Islamic militants intending to join the fight against Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

One of two U.S. citizens indicted in conspiracy

A defense attorney argued during the trial that Mohamed was the link to American-sponsored covert training and arming of Afghan rebels, teaching them survival techniques, map reading, using automatic weapons, and building explosive booby traps.

Mohamed is one of two American citizens indicted in the embassy bombing conspiracy. The other is Wadih El Hage, a Lebanese-born engineer and another alleged bin Laden associate, who until recently lived with his family in Arlington, Texas.

In addition to Mohamed and Wadih El Hage, 11 others, including bin Laden, have been indicted in the embassy bombings that killed 224 people, 12 of them Americans.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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