JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal jury convicts former US sailor on terrorism, espionage charges

[JURIST] A federal jury in the US District Court for the District of Connecticut [official website] on Wednesday convicted [DOJ press release] a former sailor of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing confidential national defense information. Hassan Abu-Jihaad, formerly known as Paul R. Hall, was a signalman on the USS Benfold [official website] in 2001, when prosecutors alleged that he passed sensitive information to the online organization and terrorist support network Azzam Publications [BBC report]. A grand jury indicted [press release] Abu-Jihaad in March 2007. Abu-Jihaad faces up to 25 years in prison at his May 23 sentencing. His lawyers plan to appeal. AP has more.

The charges against Abu-Jihaad stem from the case against Babar Ahmad [advocacy website; BBC profile], who was extradited [JURIST report] from the United Kingdom to the United States in November 2006 for conspiring to kill Americans and running Azzam Publications. Ahmad was indicted in the US [arrest warrant and criminal complaint, PDF] in October 2004.

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