U.S. Army Translator Sentenced to 121 Months' Imprisonment For Unauthorized Possession of Classified Documents Concerning Iraqi Insurgency and For Using a False Identity

BROOKLYN, N.Y., May 19, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Defendant's United States Citizenship is Revoked
A U.S. Army contract translator was sentenced today to 121 months of imprisonment for illegally possessing national defense documents, and using a false identity to procure his United States citizenship and to gain access to classified military materials. In addition, the court issued an order pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1451(e) stripping the defendant of his United States citizenship on the basis of his conviction for unlawful procurement of citizenship.
The proceedings were held before United States District Judge Edward R. Korman at the U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
Previously, on February 14, 2007, the defendant, whose true identity is still unknown and who goes by various names including, Abdulhakeem Nour, Abu Hakim, Noureddine Malki, Almaliki Nour, and Almalik Nour Eddin, pleaded guilty to the unauthorized possession of classified documents charge, and on December 20, 2005, pleaded guilty to the false identity charge. The government's investigation was conducted by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
In August 2003, the defendant used a false identity to apply for and gain a position as an Arabic translator for the L-3 Titan Corp., which provides translation services in Iraq for U.S. military personnel. He then used the same false identity fraudulently to obtain "Secret" and then "Top Secret" security clearances. Subsequently, during assignments in Iraq, the defendant took classified documents from the U.S. Army without authorization.
While assigned to an intelligence group in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army at Al Taqqadam Air Base, he downloaded a classified document and took hard copies of several other classified documents. The documents detail the 82nd Airborne's mission in Iraq in regard to insurgent activity, such as coordinates of insurgent locations upon which the U.S. Army was preparing to fire in January 2004, and U.S. Army plans for protecting Sunni Iraqis traveling on their pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in late January 2004.
During a later deployment to a U.S. Army base near Najaf, Iraq, the defendant photographed a classified battle map identifying U.S. troop routes used in August 2004 during the bloody battle of Najaf, where the U.S. and Iraqi security forces sustained serious casualties. In September 2005, the JTTF recovered these classified documents during a search of the defendant's Brooklyn apartment. One of the documents remains classified and is not described here.
"Those who would compromise military plans and intelligence will be met with aggressive investigation and prosecution," stated United States Attorney Benton J. Campbell. Mr. Campbell extended his grateful appreciation to the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE: 150.60, -2.18, -1.42%) for spearheading the government's investigation, and thanked the U.S. Department of Defense for its assistance.
The government's case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Buretta and Jeffrey Knox.