A letter written by a University student became the crux of an FBI investigation of two men who were denied entry into Israel in December based on suspicions that they were planning a suicide attack, according to court papers unsealed yesterday.
In the sworn document, a copy of which The Cavalier Daily has obtained, one of the two suspects, Mohammed Osman Idris of Annandale, Va., is accused of lying to a grand jury. The document includes the full text of a letter, written in Arabic, from second-year College student Abdalmuhssin El-Yacoubi to his older brother and the investigation's second suspect, Mohammed El-Yacoubi of Fairfax, Va.
The translated letter, according to the document, "appears to be a farewell letter to Mohammed El-Yacoubi from his younger brother."
"When I heard what you were going to carry out, my heart was filled with the feeling of grief and joy because you are the closest human being to my heart," Abdalmuhssin wrote. "It is incumbent upon me to encourage you and help you, because Islam urges Jihad for the sake of Allah."
The two suspects arrived Dec. 13 at JFK International Airport in New York to board an El Al flight to Tel Aviv. El Al Security personnel conducted a search and found that the two were carrying $2,000 cash, a cellular phone, a compass, a calculator and a video camera. Mohammed El-Yacoubi also carried with him a letter in an envelope from his younger brother, with a return address of Lambeth Field, Charlottesville, Va., the document said.
In haste to board their flight, the two men left these items behind with El Al security officials.When the men arrived in Tel Aviv, Israeli officials denied them entry into the country, forcing them to return to the United States.
The document mentions that Abdalmuhssin contends he composed the letter out of simple concern that his brother might not return because of the risk associated with travelling to the troubled area.
However, Special Agent John V. Wyman said in a statement that the letter should not be construed as innocuous.
Abdalmuhssin did not return phone calls last night.
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