Page 145 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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El-Hage, Wadih (1960– )———119

States. On August 7, 1998, truck bombs exploded just
EL-HAGE, WADIH (1960– ) minutes apart at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya,

aka Abdus Sabbur, Abd al Sabbur, Wadia, Abu and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people. At the
Abdullah al Lubnani, Norman, Wa’da Norman, the time of the attacks, el-Hage and his family were living
Manager, Tanzanite in Arlington, Texas.

U.S. citizen Wadih el-Hage served for several INDICTMENT AND TRIAL
years as Osama bin Laden’s personal secretary and
has been called a “front man” for the millionaire Al Qaeda soon emerged as the primary suspect in the
leader of Al Qaeda. El-Hage was indicted for his part East African embassy bombings; federal officials
in the August 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies arrested el-Hage in September 1998. First indicted for
in East Africa and is now serving a life sentence for perjury and making false statements, el-Hage was
subsequently charged with participating in the broader
conspiracy to commit terrorism.
terrorist conspiracy and playing an active role in the
El-Hage was born in Siddon, Lebanon, to a
Al Qaeda Kenyan cell. Prosecutors also maintained
Christian family. He grew up in Kuwait and converted
that el-Hage had been involved in various shadowy
to Islam as a teenager. El-Hage immigrated to the
groups in the United States, saying that he was friends
United States in 1978 and graduated from the Univer-
with El Sayyid Nosair, who was later convicted of
sity of Southwestern Louisiana with a degree in
involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bomb-
urban planning. During the 1980s, el-Hage traveled
ing case and the 1990 assassination of Rabbi Meir
to Pakistan to join the Afghani fight against the
Kahane.
Soviets and worked in a refugee clinic. El-Hage is
Admitted Al Qaeda conspirator Ali Mohamed, who
thought to have first met bin Laden at this time.
pleaded guilty and cooperated with U.S. investigators,
El-Hage returned to the United States and in 1985
said that el-Hage had used the Help Africa People char-
married American April Ray, a fellow convert to Islam.
ity to create false identification for Al Qaeda members.
The couple now has seven children. El-Hage and his
During a 1999 Manhattan federal court hearing,
family lived in Tucson, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas,
el-Hage attempted to read a letter he had sent to Judge
before he accepted the job as bin Laden’s personal
Leonard Sand into court record. When the judge
secretary. Between 1991 and 1994, the family lived in
stopped him, el-Hage jumped over the barrier separat-
Sudan. El-Hage apparently worked on several of bin
ing him from Sand; three U.S. marshals brought
Laden’s farming and chemical manufacturing projects.
el-Hage down before he could reach the judge.
He also may have become involved with Al Qaeda
Following this incident, el-Hage complained that
at this time.
he was subject to constant strip searches and harsh
From Sudan, the el-Hage family moved to Nairobi,
treatment. As the trial date neared, a psychologist
Kenya, and el-Hage operated the Help Africa People
hired by el-Hage’s lawyers suggested that he had
charity and a gemstone business called Tanzanite
developed a mental disorder during his imprisonment
King. Both businesses appear to have been fronts for
and was not fit to stand trial. However, prison psychi-
the Al Qaeda Kenyan cell, of which el-Hage was the
atrists determined that el-Hage was attempting to
leader.
evade prosecution. He and three other defendants
After an Al Qaeda commander died in a 1996 ferry
linked to bin Laden went on trial for the East African
boat accident in Kenya, el-Hage allegedly investigated
embassy bombings in February 2001.
and sent bin Laden a report. (After el-Hage’s September
El-Hage was convicted in May 2001 of lying to a
1998 arrest, he denied this before a New York grand
federal grand jury about Al Qaeda and acting as a
jury and provoked a perjury charge.)
facilitator for the group. He and the other three defen-
The FBI twice raided el-Hage’s Nairobi home in
dants—Mohamed Rashed al-’Owhali, Mohamed
1997 and confiscated a computer, computer disks, note-
Sadeek Odeh, and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed—were
books, and a phone book. According to press reports,
sentenced to life in prison without parole.
the books contained coded phone numbers of Al Qaeda
leaders and bin Laden’s satellite telephone number. See also MOHAMED RASHED AL-’OWHALI; AL QAEDA; OSAMA
Soon after the raids, the family returned to the United BIN LADEN; EAST AFRICAN EMBASSY BOMBINGS; KHALFAN