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Yassin M. Aref is a resident of Albany, New York, who was arrested by Federal authorities in August 2004 as part of a counter-terrorism sting operation, convicted in October 2006 of conspiring to aid a terrorist group and provide support for a weapon of mass destruction, as well as money-laundering and supporting a foreign terrorist organization, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and sentenced to 15 years in prison in March 2007.〔( Suspects raise domestic spy issue: 2 Albany Muslim men accused in FBI sting seek information ), ''Times Union'', January 5, 2006〕 In July 2008 the appellate court upheld the convictions, rejecting all of the defense's arguments. Aref wrote a memoir, ''Son of Mountains: My Life as a Kurd and a Terror Suspect'' (2008). ==Background== US forces found Aref's name, address, and phone number in a notebook in a bombed-out Iraqi encampment in 2003.〔 The information was classified, and the defense, despite defense counsel having received security clearances, was provided with almost no information about the notebook. Originally the government claimed that the notebook entry said “commander” next to Aref’s name; however, when the judge asked the government to provide the notebook page, the government admitted that there had been a “mistranslation” and the word in question was “kak,” which means “brother,” not “commander,” and is a common Kurdish term of respect.〔(Error In Albany 'Terror' Case Terror Camp Document Said Defendant Was 'Brother,' Not 'Commander' ), ''CBS News'', August 18, 2004〕 Aref is from (Iraqi Kurdistan), and his grandfather was a famous imam; Aref was already known and respected in the area. There was no way to know what group was bombed by US forces at the encampment; at times, groups such as the Kurdistan Islamic Group, run by Ali Bapir, were bombed by the US, even though they did not oppose US forces.〔(Kurd chief who taught mercy to Saddam's men ), ''Guardian Unlimited'', May 27, 2005〕 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) claimed that Aref is tied to Mullah Krekar, the founder of Ansar al-Islam.〔(Terror suspect wants own trial: Albany pizza shop owner says case against imam hurts his chance with jurors ), ''Times Union'', December 10, 2005〕 When Aref left Iraq as a refugee in 1994, he lived in Syria for 5 years. During that time he was approved by the UN as a refugee to be sent to a third country, which ended up being the US. While in Syria, Aref worked first as a gardener for a rich businessman, and then for the Damascus Office of the IMK (Islamic Movement in Kurdistan), an Islamic Kurdish group which had worked with the US to oppose Saddam Hussein, and which helped Kurdish refugees in Syria. IMK was never claimed to be a terrorist organization. Mullah Krekar was an IMK official who, at the end of 2001, two years after Aref had left Syria and the IMK job, split from IMK to form Ansar al Islam, which is a designated terrorist organization. While Aref had met Krekar briefly a couple of times through his IMK job, he did not really know him, and was opposed to his extremist politics. Aref came to the US as a United Nations refugee in 1999 with his wife and three young children. He initially found work as a janitor at a local hospital and as an ambulance driver.() After a year he was hired as the imam of the Masjid As Salam Mosque.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yassin M. Aref」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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