A federal grand jury handed up new terrorism-related charges against a prominent New York defense lawyer and two others for their roles in an alleged conspiracy led by imprisoned Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel Rahman to kill and kidnap people abroad. The Justice Department obtained the new indictment against attorney Lynne Stewart and an Arabic translator, who prosecutors accuse of helping Rahman communicate fatwas, or religious edicts, and other messages to Ahmed Abdel Sattar, a Staten Island postal worker. Sattar, a follower of the blind sheik, then allegedly circulated the messages to Rahman’s followers around the world. In July, a federal judge dismissed similar allegations against Stewart, who has represented a host of radical defendants, including leaders of the Weather Underground, and translator Mohammed Yousry. U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl branded as “vague” the government’s allegations that they had used a telephone and fax machine in a conspiracy to provide “material support” to the Islamic Group, a terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for a 1997 attack that killed 58 tourists in Egypt. Full Story
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