03:32 PM PST on Monday, February 9, 2004

By kgw.com and AP Staff

The final three members of a group of 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 morning.

From left to right: Ahmed Bilal, Muhammed Bilal and Mike Hawash. (KGW Photos)

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.

"Today's sentences demonstrate the serious consequences of attempting to assist our terrorist enemies in a time of war... we were able to put those who would harm American soldiers behind bars," said U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The sentencings cap a saga that began shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, when the group, 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, the Bilals and Hawash traveled to Hong Kong and western China and tried to enter Afghanistan, but were turned away at the border with Pakistan.

Their plot unraveled in October 2002, when FBI agents in Portland uncovered their actions and made a series of arrests, charging the six Muslims with conspiring to wage war on the United States. A seventh person -- the ex-wife of one of the men -- was later arrested, and the group became known as "the Portland Seven."

All three of those sentenced Monday were given reduced prison terms because of their cooperation with authorities — especially Hawash, who became the first to plead guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. He also 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."

The Bilal brothers, among the original group of those arrested, had previously pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiring to help al-Qaida and the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan. The brothers also pleaded guilty to firearms charges in exchange for dismssing the main charge of conspiracy to levy war against the United States.

According to the government's sentencing memorandum, Hawash joined a martial arts class soon after Sept. 11 to train for "jihad," or holy war. In October, he bought camping supplies and transferred his home into his wife's name in preparation for joining the Taliban.

Meanwhile, in gravel pits in rural Washington, the Bilal brothers practiced firing Chinese assault rifles. They referred to Jews as "lampshades" and amused themselves by laughing at Holocaust movies, according to the document.

U.S. Circuit Court Judge Robert Jones described their actions as a "blemish" on their Muslim faith, but added that in Hawash's case, his actions seemed as a one-time aberration.

Previously a non-practicing Muslim, Hawash became deeply observant following his father's death in 2001, he said. At a local mosque, he came in contact with the fundamentalist leader of the Portland Seven, Habis Al Saoub, a former mujahedeen who fought against the Soviet army in Afghanistan.

Hawash said his turning point came on Sept. 11, 2001, when he thought Muslims had been wrongly scapegoated for the attack.

"I couldn't believe any Muslim could do this," he said, "but as I went on the trip, I had misgivings" about the group's intent.

Attorney Daniel Feiner, lawyer for Ahmed Bilal, said he and his brother had pored over descriptions of different penitentiaries and chose one on the East Coast, based on its educational offerings.

"You sure you want to go to New Jersey where it's cold and not the San Francisco Bay?" the judge asked.

"I just want to get an education," said Ahmed Bilal, in his only words to the court.

His brother sat silently in his prison jumpsuit, as his lawyer, Andrew Bates, said: "He is a good, peaceful, law-abiding young man."

Two other Portland men who were allied with the Bilal brothers and Hawash have already been sentenced to 18 years in prison. Patrice Lumumba Ford, 32, and Jeffrey Leon Battle, 33, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to levy war against the United States.

The lone woman in the group, October Lewis, Battle's former wife, was sentenced to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to wiring money to the group.

The U.S. government has said the group's alleged ringleader, 37-year-old al Saoub, was killed in a shootout in Pakistan.