James Ujaama, a Muslim convert who pleaded guilty in April to supporting the Taliban, will testify before a grand jury investigating a London cleric believed to be a top al-Qaida recruiter, a newspaper reported Sunday. Ujaama, 37, is a key witness in a criminal case federal prosecutors are building against Abu Hamza al-Masri, a former imam at the Finsbury Park Mosque in London, The Seattle Times reported, citing two Department of Justice officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Robert Mahler, one of Ujaama’s lawyers, declined to comment. A federal grand jury in New York is investigating al-Masri’s alleged efforts to help Ujaama and others set up a terrorist-training camp at a ranch in Bly, Ore., in 1999, the sources said. The U.S. State Department has classified al-Masri as a terrorist, and he is wanted in Yemen in connection with the 1998 kidnappings of 16 Western tourists by the Islamic Army of Aden. British leaders also recently announced plans to strip al-Masri of his citizenship and have pulled his license to preach inside the mosque, though he continues to advocate violence against the West in sermons just outside. Full Story
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