PORTLAND, OR—Reaz Qadir Khan, 48, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Portland, has been arrested on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists for the assistance he allegedly provided to an individual who participated in a May 27, 2009 suicide bomb attack at the headquarters of Pakistan’s intelligence service in Lahore, Pakistan, that killed approximately 30 individuals and injured 300 more.
The arrest was announced by Amanda Marshall, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Gregory Fowler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland Division.
FBI agents arrested Khan this morning without incident at his residence in Portland. He made his initial appearance today before Magistrate Paul Papak in federal court in Portland, where the charges against him were unsealed and defendant was detained, pending a detention hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, March 6, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. Khan is charged by a federal indictment with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. If convicted, he faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.
“Those who provide material support to terrorists are just as responsible for the deaths and destruction that follow as those who commit the violent acts,” said Greg Fowler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “The FBI will continue to focus on cutting off the flow of funds that help terrorists train, travel, and launch their attacks.”
According to the indictment, from December 14, 2005 through June 2, 2009, Khan conspired with an individual named Ali Jaleel and others to provide material support and resources and to conceal the nature of such support and resources, knowing they would be used in a conspiracy to kill, maim, or kidnap persons abroad. Jaleel was a Maldivian national who resided outside the United States. Jaleel died while participating in the suicide attack on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Headquarters in Lahore on May 27, 2009, according to the indictment.
As part of the conspiracy, Khan allegedly used e-mail and intermediaries to provide advice and financial assistance to Jaleel and his family. Khan allegedly provided Jaleel with advice to help him in his efforts to travel undetected from the Maldives to commit violent jihad and used coded language when communicating with Jaleel to avoid detection. Further, Khan allegedly provided financial assistance so Jaleel could attend a training camp to prepare for an attack such as that carried out in Lahore on May 27, 2009. Khan also allegedly provided financial support and advice to Jaleel’s family while Jaleel traveled to Pakistan and after he died.
In April 2006, Jaleel and a small group from the Maldives attempted to travel to Pakistan to train for violent jihad in Iraq or Afghanistan, but they were detained and returned to the Maldives, where Jaleel was placed under house arrest, according to the indictment.
In 2008, Jaleel allegedly e-mailed Khan about his plans to travel to Pakistan again, and in response, Khan provided advice to Jaleel on how to avoid detection and offered to arrange for money to be sent to Jaleel. In October 2008, Jaleel allegedly told Khan he needed “$2,500 for everything” and asked that Khan take care of his family and educate his children. Khan promised to help Jaleel’s family. Khan later instructed Jaleel to pick up the money he needed to enter the training camp from an individual in Karachi, Pakistan. To arrange for this transfer, Khan allegedly contacted an individual in Los Angeles whom he knew could quickly arrange for Jaleel to pick up money in Pakistan. According to indictment, the individual in Los Angeles then arranged for the money to be available for pick-up from the individual in Karachi.
On November 5, 2008, Jaleel wrote Khan that he was about to gain admission to the training camp and that he would have leftover money from the funds that Khan had provided him. Khan allegedly advised Jaleel to keep the extra funds so they could be sent to Jaleel’s two wives in the Maldives and instructed Jaleel to leave a closed envelope with the individual in Karachi.
According to the indictment, on May 27, 2009, Jaleel and two others conducted the suicide attack at the ISI Headquarters in Lahore. The blast resulted in the death of approximately 30 people and injured 300 more. In a video released by the media outlet of al Qaeda shortly after the attack, Jaleel allegedly made a statement taking responsibility for the attack, and he was shown preparing for the attack at a training camp in what is believed to be the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan. In June 2009, Khan allegedly wired approximately $750 from a store in Oregon to one of Jaleel’s wives in the Maldives.
This case was investigated by the FBI. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan D. Knight from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. Trial Attorney David P. Cora, from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, is assisting.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
UPDATE: CBS Seattle is now reporting that Reaz Qadir Khan is an employee of the city of Portland, Oregon. Khan is a wastewater treatment plant operator for the city of Portland.
