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3 Muslims sentenced in Portland

billingsgazette.com: "PORTLAND, Ore. - Three Muslim men from Portland who tried, but failed, to enter Afghanistan as Taliban foot soldiers, voiced profound regret for their actions, as a federal judge sentenced them to prison Monday.

The Palestinian-born Maher 'Mike' Hawash, 39, a former Intel software engineer received seven years in prison, while the Bilal brothers - Ahmed, 25, and Muhammad, 23 - were sentenced to 10 and eight years, respectively.

The sentencing caps a saga that began shortly after Sept. 11, when the three, inflamed by what they described as the unfair targeting of Afghanistan by U.S. forces, created a volunteer militia, known as Katibat Al-Mawt, or 'The Squad of Death.'

Along with three other Portland residents, they traveled to western China and tried to enter Afghanistan, but were turned away at the border.

The group became known as the 'Portland Seven,' after the FBI uncovered their actions and arrested them, along with one of their wives, in October 2002.

All three of those sentenced Monday were given reduced terms because of their cooperation with authorities - especially Hawash, who offered information which helped prosecutors tag 18-year sentences on two other members of the cell.

'I do not blame anybody else except myself,' Hawash said in court. 'It's something I have done that was completely out of my character.'

Behind him, a row of his former Intel co-workers, many of whom had once stood on the steps of the federal courthouse proclaiming his innocence, wiped away tears.

Federal agents arrested Hawash last March and held him for five weeks as a material witness before filing charges against him, prompting a 'Free Mike Hawash' campaign.

Neither of the Bilal brothers addressed the judge directly. Their lawyers described them as having 'tried to make amends.'"

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