US court indicts a former congressman with close ties to Sudan government
January 16, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — A US grand jury today indicted an ex-lawmaker and a delegate to the United Nations with close links to Sudan accusing him of fundraising terrorist activities.
Under US law a Grand Jury is the first step in determining whether there is enough evidence to prosecute an individual before a court of law.
Other defendants include Mubarak Hamed, 51, a naturalized US citizen from Sudan; Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 53, a naturalized US citizen born in Libya; and Ahmad Mustafa, 55, a US resident and citizen of Iraq.
A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying — money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Siljander, who founded the Washington-area consulting group Global Strategies Inc, was also hired by the Sudanese government to lobby in favor of removing certain organizations owned by Khartoum from frozen funds lists.
The United States under Clinton’s administration imposed comprehensive economic sanctions against Sudan in 1997 because of the country’s alleged support of international terrorist activities.
According to the US regulations on Sudan sanctions “all property and interests in property of the Government of Sudan that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of U.S. persons, including their overseas branches” are to be blocked.
The former congressman came under fire in 2006 for facilitating a visit by Sudan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Ahmed Karti who is accused by human right groups of orchestrating a campaign of violence in the war ravaged Darfur region.
The US State department at the time said that Karti “was granted a visa for a private visit to the United States” and that he was a guest of Siljander. The latter defended his position by saying that he “only arranged his attendance at a congressional prayer breakfast”.
He further said that he is not aware of any wrongdoings by Karti in the past.
“I don’t know anything about that. As far as I knew he was in the cabinet” he added.
In a speech at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University Siljander referenced a visit he made to Sudan in August 2006 where he met President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir “a person I have courted friendship with over the last nine years”.
International experts estimate 200,000 people have died in the conflict, which Washington calls genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use. The Sudan government says 9,000 people have been killed.
(ST)
Some informtion for this report are provided by AP