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Detroit's terror trial: A chronology
Sept. 11, 2001Suicide hijackers kill 2,752 people in terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Federal authorities launch a worldwide hunt for terrorists supporting al Qaida.
Sept. 17, 2001
Key evidence was found in this southwest Detroit home at the time of the raid.
Men may be linked to foiled Turkish plot
Federal agents raid a Detroit apartment looking for Nabil al-Marabh, who is wanted for questioning in the government's investigation into terrorism and whose name is on the mailbox. Inside they find Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud, along with what would become key evidence in the case: false documents bearing the name Michael Saisa, a day planner that the government later says contains sketches of an American air base in Turkey and a military hospital in Jordan and a videotape FBI agents say feature possible targets. Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud are arrested .
Sept. 18, 2001
Nabil al-Marabh
Nabil Al-Marabh allegedly tied to bin Laden, others
Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud are accused in a criminal complaint of document and identity fraud.
Sept. 19, 2001
Nabil al-Marabh found in Illinois
Al-Marabh is arrested in suburban Chicago. Originally suspected of having ties to Osama bin Laden, he would eventually be deported in January 2004 for an immigration violation.
Sept. 21, 2001
Farouk Ali-Haimoud
Ahmed Hannan
Karim Koubriti
A magistrate orders Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud held, saying they present a flight risk.
Sept. 21, 2001
Al-Marabh caught in Chicago, could have ties to bin Laden
Sept. 27, 2001
Men accused of having false immigration papers worked at Metro as dishwashers
Koubriti, Hannan and Youssef Hmimssa, whose photo and Michael Saisa alias were found on documents in the raid, are charged in a federal indictment with fraud and misuse of visas and fraud in connection with identity documents.
Zouhaier Rouissi, a former roommate of Hannan and Koubriti, tells the FBI the men often drank alcohol excessively, smoked marijuana and had casual sex. They did not seem religious or speak of terrorism, he said.
Sept. 28, 2001Hmimssa, whose face appears in phony documents seized at Norman Street, is arrested in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He denies knowing anything about terrorism. He later waives his right to a removal hearing and is sent to Detroit to face charges along with Koubriti and Hannan.
Oct. 10, 2001
The U.S. attorney's office says the criminal complaint against Ali-Haimoud has been dismissed. He is released from custody later that month.
Oct. 23, 2001
U.S. District Judge Gerald E. RosenU.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen imposes a gag order in the phony documents case.
Oct. 31, 2001With Koubriti, Hannan and Hmimssa in custody, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says three Arab men arrested in Michigan were "suspected of having knowledge" of the Sept. 11 attacks. He later backed off that statement, but was accused by defense lawyers of violating a gag order in the case.
Nov. 1, 2001Hmimssa, who faces unrelated fraud charges that could send him to prison for up to 81 years, agrees to cooperate in the Detroit case. He denies knowledge of terrorists or their activities and says Hannan and Koubriti drank alcohol and smoked hashish.
Nov. 2, 2001
Atty. Gen. Ashcroft
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday formally retracted Attorney General John Ashcroft's suggestion that three Michigan men were linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
January, 2002Drug dealer Milton 'Butch' Jones tells the U.S. Attorney's Office that Hmimssa told him he lied to the Secret Service. Jones' statement is never shared with defense attorneys.
Jan. 7, 2002Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino, the lead prosecutor in the case, says the government is "vigorously pursuing the evidence" in trying to build a terrorism case against Koubriti, Hannan and Hmimssa.
March 2002For the first time, Hmimssa suggests the other men were involved in terror activities. Hmimssa meets about a dozen times with federal investigators, often without his attorney.
April 3, 2002
Abdel-Elah Elmardoudi
Federal agents arrest Ali-Haimoud at an ice cream shop where he worked at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. A new indictment released the next day charges Ali-Haimoud with fraud and misuse of visas and conspiracy to commit document fraud along with Koubriti and Hannan. A man with aliases including Abdella, later identified as Elmardoudi, is charged in the conspiracy. Charges against Hmimssa remain, but his case is later separated from that of the other defendants.
May 2002
Nabil al-Marabh is charged with immigration law violations. He later pleads guilty and is sentenced to eight months in prison. He has faced no terrorism charges, is fighting deportation and says he doesn't know Koubriti, Hannan, Ali-Haimoud or Elmardoudi.
Aug. 28, 2002
'Sleeper' unit allegedly supported attacks in U.S., Turkey and Jordan
Koubriti, Hannan, Ali-Haimoud and Elmardoudi, under the name Abdella, are charged with conspiracy to provide material resources or support to terrorists. The indictment accuses them of operating as a "covert underground support unit for terrorist attacks" and functioning as a "sleeper operational combat cell." The indictment, which relies heavily on Hmimssa's subsequent statements to investigators, claims the men planned to acquire missiles, use shoe bombs, truck bombs and planned attacks on Comerica Park, Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., Las Vegas, the air base in Turkey and the hospital in Jordan. Hmimssa is not charged with terrorism.
Nov. 4, 2002Elmardoudi is arrested in North Carolina during a routine check of a Greyhound bus for drug running and other illegal activities. He is found with three foreign passports, seven Social Security cards and $83,000 in cash.
March 18, 2003U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen bars public and media from the early stages of jury selection for the trial, which is the nation's first post-Sept. 11 terror trial. The next day American troops invade Iraq.
March 24, 2003Rosen denies a request by defense lawyers to delay the trial because of the war with Iraq, saying the defendants will be able to get a fair trial.
March 26, 2003
Jury selection is completed. In their opening statements, lawyers for Elmardoudi, Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud claim the men were hapless immigrants scraping by on the bottom of American society.
March 28, 2003Federal prosecutors call their first witness, FBI Special Agent Michael Thomas, who led the search of the Detroit apartment that led to the terrorism case.
April 3, 2003
Moroccan helped U.S. in case against four men on trial in Detroit for aiding terrorists
Hmimssa pleads guilty to 10 federal charges of identity theft and credit card crimes, stemming from indictments in Michigan, Iowa and Illinois. The plea ensures Hmimssa will serve no more than 46 months in prison if he testifies for the government.. Hmimssa is the only witness who directly ties the men to terrorist plots.
April 8, 2003Hmimssa takes the stand as the government's key witness in what will be five days of testimony. He says Elmardoudi, the alleged ringleader, told him about the possibility of massive attacks on the United States one month before the Sept. 11 attacks. Hmimssa also described the defendants as Islamic extremists who wanted to ship arms to the Middle East and smuggle "brothers" into the country.
April 11, 2003Some Nevada law enforcers say media reports of Hmimssa's testimony offered them their first information that the alleged terror cell might have wanted to target Las Vegas. The FBI insists that there have been no credible terrorist threats to Nevada or Las Vegas.
April 17, 2003
Defense attorney demands mistrial after the testimony
But defense lawyers say Detroit suspect made up his story
In mid-trial, Ashcroft praises Hmimssa at a news conference, saying his testimony has been of "substantial value." Rosen rebukes him for violating the gag order.
April 18, 2003
The judge in the trial won't allow the government to introduce evidence linking the men to former terror suspect Nabil al-Marabh but denied a defense request for a mistrial over the issue.
Rosen said he is "distressed" by Ashcroft's public praise for Hmimssa during a press conference the previous day because of a gag order in the case. It is the second time defense lawyers say Ashcroft violated Rosen's gag order.
May 6, 2003Defense lawyers begin calling witnesses in their effort to rebut the government's case.
May 14, 2003
Man could discredit Hmimssa in phone testimony
Testimony finishes, with the defense calling a former associate of Hmimssa and the government presenting a brief rebuttal.
May 19, 2003
Closing arguments begin today in case with sweeping impact
Jurors start deliberations after the U.S. government raises the nation's terror alert level to orange following suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia.
May 20, 2003
Closing arguments take place. Federal prosecutors ask jurors to piece together the puzzle of evidence and convict, while defense lawyers say the case against their clients is built on lies.
June 3, 2003
A split verdict is issued. Elmardoudi and Koubriti are convicted of supporting terrorism. Hannan is convicted of document fraud. Ali-Haimoud is acquitted of all charges. Ashcroft hails the verdict as an important victory in the war on terror.
Sept. 4, 2003
Asst. U.S. attorney Richard G. ConvertinoJustice Department removes prosecutors Richard Convertino and Keith Corbett from case. An investigation of Convertino for allegations of ethical miscoduct begins shortly afterwards.
Oct. 3, 2003
A contempt decision against attorney general would be only second citation in history
Oct. 15, 2003
Defense team cites errors by prosecutor and federal judge
Lawyers for Koubriti, El-Mardoudi, and Hannan asked a federal judge to order a new trial, charging misconduct by prosecutors and errors by a federal judge.
Dec. 8, 2003
Judge wants to know why evidence wasn't given to the defense
Dec. 9, 2003
Defense lawyers allege government misconduct, say evidence withheld
Dec. 12, 2003
Prosecutors ordered to appear to discuss terror trial evidence
He says they should have turned over documents to defense attorneys, but doesn't guarantee a new trial
Dec. 16, 2003
Attorney general apologizes for violating court's gag order in Detroit terror trial
U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen chooses to issue a public admonishment, a sanction short of rebuking Attorney General John D. Ashcroft with a formal reprimand, for twice violating a court-imposed gag order in the Detroit terror trial. In a Nov. 26 letter Ashcroft wrote to Rosen he said he regretted the statements he made in which he praised a key government witness, Youssef Hmimssa. Lawyers for Koubriti, Elmardoudi and Hannan immediately asked for a mistrial as a result of Ashcroft's statements.
Dec. 19, 2003
Outside U.S. prosecutor joins team to make sure defense has all pertinent documents
January, 2004U.S. attorney's office hands over top secret material -- including documents from the CIA -- to U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen relating to the terror case.
Jan, 21, 2004
He claims agent directed him to steal mail from Arabs considered terror suspects
Marwan Farhat, a confidential FBI informant, flees the country after his identity is revealed. He says the FBI encouraged him to break the law as he spied on 242 Muslims.
Feb. 2, 2004
Judge could toss verdicts, order new trial over records defense lawyers weren't given
Feb. 4, 2004
Feb. 18, 2004
Judge in terror case orders fingerprints for possible clearance
Feb. 19, 2004
Jurist could issue secret decision on granting new trial in Detroit case
Feb. 25, 2004
Hannan
Controversial case in Detroit expected to go on for months
Feb. 27, 2004
Ashcroft appoints Craig Morford, special prosecutor in Detroit, to oversee a review of the terror case.
March 10, 2004
Court defends order to limit comments by lawyers in Detroit case
Sources: U.S. District Court in Detroit, U.S. attorney's office in Detroit.
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The Detroit News.
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