DETROIT, March 27 (UPI) -- Here are thumbnail sketches of four men on trial in federal court in Detroit on charges of providing material support for terrorists and possession of forged documents. A fifth man is the government's chief witness.
The defendants:
Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 22, Algeria:
Ali-Haimoud immigrated in 1999. He has been jailed since April 2 when he was arrested at his job at an ice cream shop at Detroit Metro Airport. He is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and document fraud.
Ahmed Hannan, 34, Morocco:
Hannan immigrated in late 2000 and worked at a chicken processing plant near Canton, Ohio, before moving to the Detroit area in 2001 where he got a job washing dishes at Detroit Metro Airport. He also took a truck-driving course, which he failed. Hannan is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and document fraud.
Karim Koubriti, 24, Morocco:
Like Hannan, Koubriti immigrated in late 2000 and got a job at a chicken processing plant in Canton, Ohio. He took and passed a truck-driving course but never drove a commercial rig. He told federal agents they would find fraudulent documents in his apartment. He is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and document fraud.
Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 36, Morocco:
Elmardoudi is considered the alleged ringleader. He was arrested at a bus station in North Carolina, allegedly carrying $83,000 in cash and fake documents. He is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and document fraud and also faces charges in Minneapolis of allegedly stealing and selling telephone credit cards.
Government's chief witness:
Youssef Hmimssa, 37, Morocco:
Hmimssa immigrated in the mid-1990s. He drove a cab in Chicago where he took courses on computers. He fled to Detroit in 2001 after he was charged with credit card fraud and lived with the defendants.
