Iyman Faris

Iyman Faris (aka Mohammad Rauf; born June 4, 1969, Pakistan-administered Kashmir) is a Pakistani American former truck driver from Columbus, Ohio who was convicted of providing material support to Al Qaeda, for his role in a plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. His name has sometimes been mistranscribed or reported as Lyman Harris.

On June 22, 2003, the United States Department of Justice revealed to Time that Faris had served as a double agent for the FBI for months. Faris was detained two weeks after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan on March 1. While installed as a double agent for the U.S. government, Faris sent messages to his terrorist commanders by mobile phone and email from an FBI safe house in Virginia. A senior Bush administration official told Time, "He was sitting in the safe house making calls for us. It was a huge triumph."

Early history

He first entered the United States in 1994, and married Geneva Bowling the following year. Faris became a U.S. citizen in 1999, and allegedly returned to Pakistan the following year, and moved along to Afghanistan, where he is accused of having met Osama bin Laden. While in the region, documents provided to the court show that Faris was asked to investigate the possibility of using an ultralight aircraft as an "escape plane" for bin Laden. He used an internet cafe in Karachi, Pakistan to research ultralights and purchased 2000 sleeping bags.

At some point Faris was counseled by a local imam for suicidality, and tried to jump off a bridge in Columbus before he was restrained and taken for a psychiatric evaluation. Faris' five-year marriage ended in 2000. His ex-wife later said he had suffered from hearing imaginary voices and sudden bouts of believing that somebody was choking him.

Brooklyn Bridge plot

In late 2001, while in Pakistan, Faris went to a travel agency to have expired airline tickets to Yemen re-issued for several unknown colleagues. Since he wasn't the original purchaser, he claimed to be a preacher from Tablighi Jamaat.

In early 2002, Faris was introduced to an operative identified only as "C-2", and learned of a plot allegedly involving the simultaneous destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge by cutting through cables with blowtorches, and a second group that would derail a train in Washington D.C. Faris' investigations into obtaining the necessary tools for the dual-operation involved asking a friend where he might purchase welding equipment, and researching the structure of the bridge on the internet. He concluded that the operation was unlikely, and sent a message back to Pakistan calling off the plot, stating that "The weather is too hot".^{[citation needed]}

Working for FBI

On March 19, 2003, Faris was visited by two FBI agents and an anti-terror officer, who confronted him with testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the results of an intercepted telephone call. Faris was reportedly friendly and accommodating, and agreed to let the agents search his apartment the following day.

He was then granted a deal to work as a double agent, reporting to the FBI. He was ordered to leave his home in Columbus, and stay at a safe house in Virginia from which he would appear to continue discussions with his contacts, reporting the information back to the authorities. He told authorities that Majid Khan, a Baltimore youth who worked at his father's gas station, had referred to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as an "uncle" and spoken of a desire to kill Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf. After Khan was taken into custody, sent to a CIA black site and transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Faris said that his accusations were "an absolute lie" and that he had been coerced into making the statements.

Criminal charges

On May 1, 2003, Faris pled guilty to both charges, providing material support and resources to Al Qaeda and conspiracy for providing the terrorist organization with information about possible U.S. targets for attack. The documents relating to the charges were not unsealed until June 19, 2003. Shortly after, it was revealed that Faris had in fact been a double agent working under orders from the FBI.

On September 25 he sought to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming that while he admitted to meeting with Khalid, he had merely been seeking information about Al-Qaeda for a book he wanted to write. He argued that Khalid was giving false information to authorities as revenge, for Faris refusing to be recruited into Al-Qaeda by the lieutenant. The appeal was rejected. On October 28 he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema.

According to the New York Times, the plot was uncovered with assistance from the NSA eavesdropping program. Faris' new lawyer David B. Smith announced that they were looking into a direct lawsuit against George W. Bush, who personally authorized the illegal wiretaps. In 2004, Nuradin Abdi, charged with plotting to detonate explosives in shopping centres, said that Faris had picked him up from Port Columbus International Airport.

External links

• [1] United States v. Faris (PDF), FindLaw
• "Iyman Faris Sentenced for Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda", press release, Department of Justice, October 28, 2003.
• Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, December 16, 2005.