Rafiq Abdus Sabir

Rafiq Abdus Sabir
Born
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materColumbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
City College of New York
OccupationPhysician
Criminal statusIncarcerated at Danbury Federal
Criminal penalty25 years imprisonment
For the Kurdish poet (born 1950), see Rafiq Sabir.

Rafiq Abdus Sabir is an American doctor convicted of supporting terrorism, for agreeing to provide medical treatment to insurgents wounded in the US-led Invasion of Iraq.

Born in New York City, Sabir was raised by his mentally ill mother after his father abandoned the family.[1] He graduated from Columbia University[1] and worked as an emergency room physician in Boca Raton, Florida, (including at Glades General Hospital[1]) and Saudi Arabia,[2] paying off $750,000 in medical school debts, living with his common-law wife, Arlene Morgan, and their two sons.[3][4] He converted to Islam in the 1980s.[5]

He was approached by undercover FBI agent Ali Soufan, who pretended to be a member of al-Qaeda wanting to set up medical care for injured fighters.[6] Sabir was arrested on May 28, 2005, at his home in the Villa San Remo gated community, where he had lived for the previous two years.[4]

Sabir is a friend of Tarik Shah, a New York jazz musician and martial-arts expert who was convicted of agreeing to provide training to Iraqi insurgents.[7] Shah pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 15 years in prison and was the one who gave the FBI Sabir's name as a "co-accomplice". Brooklyn bookstore owner Abdulrahman Farhane and Washington D.C. cabdriver Mahmud al-Mutazzim received 13 and 15 years' imprisonment, respectively, in the same FBI sting operation.[6]

Shah and Sabir swore Bayat together, though Sabir later claimed that since the oath was simply repeating Arabic that was read to him by the FBI agent, he hadn't understood what was being said, and that the agent's primitive Arabic resulted in words like "al-Qaeda" being mispronounced and undecipherable, as demonstrated in audiotapes played for the courtroom. Federal prosecutor Karl Metzner argued that since Sabir had lived in Saudi Arabia for several months, he must be able to speak Arabic.[2]

Other evidence argued by Metzner included the fact that Sabir was a legal firearms owner.[4]

Sabir was found guilty on May 21, 2007, and expressed disappointment with the verdict through his lawyer Ed Wilford. On November 28, 2007, Sabir was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment, out of a possible maximum of 30.[8] He is incarcerated at FCI Milan, with a release date of 2026.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Boca doctor's terrorism trial begins Tuesday". Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. doctor pledged to al Qaeda for jihad: prosecutor - Boston.com". [dead link‍]
  3. ^ Locy, Toni (May 31, 2005). "N.Y., Fla. men denied bail". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c "Miami & Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Dolphins & More". Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
  5. ^ Appeal Case #1 – Dr. Rafiq Sabir (Criminal Appeal)
  6. ^ a b "Doctor convicted of supporting al-Qaida". Archived from the original on May 24, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
  7. ^ Feuer, Alan (April 5, 2007). "Bronx Man Pleads Guilty In Terror Case". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  8. ^ "Nefa foundation – Just another WordPress site" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  9. ^ Bureau of Prisons Inmate locator