Gaber Elbaneh Living Free in Yemen
Yet another shocker.
Faysal H. Galab, the first of the Lackawanna Six to plead guilty to attending a training camp of the al-Qaida terrorist network in Afghanistan, could be out of prison and back in the Buffalo area by May if he is granted an early release. Two others — Yasein A. Taher and Shafal A. Mosed — could be free two years from now, depending on how they behave behind bars.
The other three members of the Lackawanna Six, who received stiffer sentences, will have to wait longer, although they could also reduce their prison terms with credit for good behavior.
Galab received a seven-year prison sentence, shortest among the defendants. He was the first to admit that he had traveled to Afghanistan and attended one of Osama bin Laden’s training camps in the spring of 2001, several months before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
The question now is whether the six, upon release, will return to their small, publicity-shy Yemeni community in Lackawanna, which was rocked by national attention from the arrests in September 2002.
Mohamed Saleh, director of the Guidance Mosque in Lackawanna, says he has heard reports that Galab intends to relocate to Michigan — home to the largest Yemeni community in the country — to begin a new life.
“My understanding is that it is a possibility,” he said. But if Galab or any of his co-defendants return to Lackawanna, they will be welcomed by the community, Saleh added. “That’s really their determination where they want to go for peace and comfort,” Saleh said. “We have no grudges. What they have done is between them, the system and God.”
Joseph M. LaTona, Galab’s lawyer, said that when his client is freed, he will have paid his debt to society “and should be able to live wherever he wants.” The family of Sahim Alwan, another member of the Lackawanna Six, expects him to return home, where he may make his living as a carpenter, a trade he has learned in prison.
“Where else can he go? Even if he went to Michigan, the media would find him,” a relative of Alwan’s said regarding the attention each of the Lackawanna Six will probably receive when they are freed.
Relatives of Mukhtar al-Bakri also expect him to return to Lackawanna. Al-Bakri’s father said he has urged his son to learn a trade while in prison.
“I want him to stay with us,” Ali al-Bakri said. “I’ve told my son to learn work skills in prison, but I don’t know if he has.” Mukhtar al-Bakri received 10 years, one of longest prison sentences, because he stayed for the full eight weeks at the training camp, after others left early. Al-Bakri is expected to be released in the summer of 2011. Alwan, who received a 9zyear sentence, is not expected to be freed until late 2010.
Lackawanna Police Chief Dennis J. O’Hara said the return of the young men to this area raises questions on whether they will be safe. “My concern is more for the safety of those being released and someone with a grudge from 9/11 coming in here and taking action against them,” he said. “It won’t be easy for them.”
Where Yahya A. Goba eventually settles is perhaps the biggest mystery. Described as the organizer of the Lackawanna Six and responsible for introducing them to a visiting al-Qaida recruiter in April 2001, Goba is not even listed in the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate roster, though he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Every now and then, his name makes national news when he testifies as a government witness in a trial of an alleged terrorist. Goba describes his experiences at bin Laden’s al-Farooq training camp in Afghanistan. In appreciation for Goba’s help in those cases, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn recently asked a federal judge to reduce Goba’s prison term by a year. U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny is expected to rule on that request sometime after Dec. 10.
Another mystery person is Jaber A. Elbaneh, who was in Yemen when his six companions were arrested here. Several months ago, he surrendered to Yemen authorities after his escape from a prison there.
The government of Yemen has stated that it will not return Elbaneh to the United States because it does not have an extradition treaty with this country. The U.S. State Department has issued a reward of up to $5 million for his capture.
A member of Alwan’s family said that word on the street in Lackawanna’s Yemeni community is that Elbaneh has renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now living free in Yemen. But U.S. authorities say they do not know whether this is true.
