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CNN Live Today
Buffalo Terror Suspects Seek Bail
Aired September 20, 2002 - 13:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A lawyer for one of the six terror suspects in Upstate New York concedes that his client went to a training camp in Afghanistan, but he says his client left the camp after concluding the Muslim militants there were crazy.
CNN's Jeff Flock is in Buffalo, New York, where the six American suspects have asked a judge for bail.
And, Jeff, by my read of the law, just by virtue of the fact that that person admitted he went to the camp, that is a violation of federal law, isn't it?
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is still a pointed issue. The defense would argue that, no; in fact, that is not. Just showing up at that camp does not constitute supplying material help to the terrorists, and that's the way the statute reads. So, it's an item that is still yet to be determined.
But what we can tell you for sure is that in about an hour's time, that bond hearing, that I think is pretty much the longest bond hearing I ever heard of, gets back under way here.
We've got the freshest pictures of the arrival of the six, and if they look a little bit familiar, those pictures that is, I assure you these are today. They kind of look a little bit like the last two days, and this is the third day of this hearing.
And the judge says the only good news is, it will be done today. They are going to quit at 6:00. Of course, six defendants all needing to present their case.
Yesterday in court, and perhaps we can take a look at the scenes from inside the court -- as you point out, that one lawyer arguing that his client, Sahim Alwan, the man who left after about 10 days, said he couldn't get out of the camp. No. 1, he didn't know that they were going to a terrorism training camp. When he wound up there, he said immediately he wanted to leave. He was unable to leave. They would not allow it. And at one point, he had to feign an ankle injury for them to eventually allow him to leave.
Another key question is: Why, then, when they got back to the U.S. did they not reveal that they were in a terrorism training camp?
Their attorney explained the reason, in his mind, for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES HARRINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: After September the 11th happened, those fears increased dramatically. He was between a rock and a hard place in terms of what he felt could do, that if he came forward, he would be subjecting himself to he didn't know what. And he didn't know what to do, and he was in a bind, and he didn't know how to address it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: According to them, Miles, the experience scared the heck out of them, and they did not know what to do when they came back. And, as he said, after September 11, their fears did not get any better.
So, that's their side of it. They'll continue to present that today, and we won't get a decision on this in terms of bond until sometime next week.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. So, how that law is interpreted will be very crucial in all of this.
FLOCK: You got it, exactly. Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Jeff Flock near Buffalo, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 20, 2002 - 13:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A lawyer for one of the six terror suspects in Upstate New York concedes that his client went to a training camp in Afghanistan, but he says his client left the camp after concluding the Muslim militants there were crazy.
CNN's Jeff Flock is in Buffalo, New York, where the six American suspects have asked a judge for bail.
And, Jeff, by my read of the law, just by virtue of the fact that that person admitted he went to the camp, that is a violation of federal law, isn't it?
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is still a pointed issue. The defense would argue that, no; in fact, that is not. Just showing up at that camp does not constitute supplying material help to the terrorists, and that's the way the statute reads. So, it's an item that is still yet to be determined.
But what we can tell you for sure is that in about an hour's time, that bond hearing, that I think is pretty much the longest bond hearing I ever heard of, gets back under way here.
We've got the freshest pictures of the arrival of the six, and if they look a little bit familiar, those pictures that is, I assure you these are today. They kind of look a little bit like the last two days, and this is the third day of this hearing.
And the judge says the only good news is, it will be done today. They are going to quit at 6:00. Of course, six defendants all needing to present their case.
Yesterday in court, and perhaps we can take a look at the scenes from inside the court -- as you point out, that one lawyer arguing that his client, Sahim Alwan, the man who left after about 10 days, said he couldn't get out of the camp. No. 1, he didn't know that they were going to a terrorism training camp. When he wound up there, he said immediately he wanted to leave. He was unable to leave. They would not allow it. And at one point, he had to feign an ankle injury for them to eventually allow him to leave.
Another key question is: Why, then, when they got back to the U.S. did they not reveal that they were in a terrorism training camp?
Their attorney explained the reason, in his mind, for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES HARRINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: After September the 11th happened, those fears increased dramatically. He was between a rock and a hard place in terms of what he felt could do, that if he came forward, he would be subjecting himself to he didn't know what. And he didn't know what to do, and he was in a bind, and he didn't know how to address it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: According to them, Miles, the experience scared the heck out of them, and they did not know what to do when they came back. And, as he said, after September 11, their fears did not get any better.
So, that's their side of it. They'll continue to present that today, and we won't get a decision on this in terms of bond until sometime next week.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. So, how that law is interpreted will be very crucial in all of this.
FLOCK: You got it, exactly. Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Jeff Flock near Buffalo, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
