NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Federal prosecutors acknowledge they don’t have direct proof that a former Navy sailor leaked details of ship movements. They hope his coded speech and obsession with security will persuade a jury to convict him.
Attorneys for Hassan Abu-Jihaad say the government’s case is weak, echoing civil liberties groups and attorneys who have made similar accusations in high-profile terrorism cases that have fizzled recently.
“I think the government has taken a risk with borderline cases and tried to make them into something they’re not,” said Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland.
Abu-Jihaad, 31, of Phoenix, is facing trial next month. He has pleaded not guilty to charges he provided material support to terrorists with intent to kill U.S. citizens.
He has been held without bail since his arrest in March in Phoenix.
Authorities allege that Abu-Jihaad leaked a document describing the location and vulnerabilities of a Navy battle group to suspected terrorism supporters in London.
They do not have any e-mail showing he sent the so-called battle group document. Instead, they’re asking a federal judge to let them introduce what they say are coded references to terrorism plots.
