Army Translator Imprisoned for Spying for Iraqi Insurgency

A US 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 stripping the defendant of his United States citizenship on the basis of his conviction for unlawful procurement of citizenship.

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The proceedings were held before United States District Judge Edward R. Korman at the US 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 US 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 US Army without authorization. While assigned to an intelligence group in the 82nd Airborne Division of the US 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 US Army was preparing to fire in January 2004, and US Army plans for protecting Sunni Iraqis traveling on their pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in late January 2004. During a later deployment to a US Army base near Najaf, Iraq, the defendant photographed a classified battle map identifying US troop routes used in August 2004 during the bloody battle of Najaf, where the US 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 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for spearheading the government's investigation, and thanked the US Department of Defense for its assistance.