WASHINGTON - A former U.S. navy sailor who allegedly disclosed secrets about a Canadian frigate and American ships was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on espionage charges.
Hassan Abujihaad, also known as Paul Hall, is scheduled to appear Friday in Connecticut district court in Bridgewater.
He faces a maximum prison term of 25 years on charges of supporting terrorism with the intent to kill Americans and transmitting classified information relating to national defence.
He's accused of leaking the location of ships and the best ways to attack them, including the patrol frigate HMCS Winnipeg, part of a large U.S. naval force headed to the Middle East in 2001.
Abujihaad, 31, who's being transported from Phoenix, Ariz., where he was apparently working as a delivery man, allegedly gave the data to London-based terrorists running an organization called Azzam Publications. He's charged in the same case as Barbar Ahmad, a British computer specialist arrested in 2004 and accused of running websites to raise money for terrorism. Ahmad is scheduled to be extradited to the United States to face trial.
During a search of Ahmad's computers, investigators said they discovered files containing secret information about the positions of the navy ships and their susceptibility to attack.
Abujihaad, who received an honourable discharge from the navy in 2002, exchanged e-mails in 2000 and 2001 with Ahmad while on active duty on the USS Benfold, a guided missile destroyer, an FBI affidavit said.
The documents included drawings of a navy battle group that included the Winnipeg, saying it would sail into the Persian Gulf on April 29, 2001.
The ships were enforcing sanctions against the Taliban in Afghanistan and engaging in missions against al Qaeda.
One of the recovered e-mails noted the Winnipeg carried 150 personnel and specialized in anti-air warfare.
It added the Canadian sailors were armed with MP5 submachine-guns and 9 mm pistols.
The e-mails also include discussions of videos Abujihaad ordered that promoted violent jihad and his praise of the October 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, the FBI says.
Azzam Publications websites were hosted for some time on the servers of a web company based in Connecticut.
