Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Kill U.S. Soldiers Abroad and Attempting to Provide Material Support to al Shabaab

Betim Kaziu was sentenced today to 27 years’ imprisonment for conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers abroad and related terrorism charges. On July 7, 2011, following a two-week trial before United States District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn federal court, the defendant was convicted of conspiring to commit murder overseas, conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to use a machine gun in furtherance of those crimes.

The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The evidence at trial established that the defendant traveled from Brooklyn to Cairo, Egypt in February 2009 in order to wage violent jihad against United States troops in the Middle East and the Balkans. While in Cairo, the defendant also attempted to acquire automatic weapons and to travel to Somalia to join al Shabaab, a Somali terrorist organization allied with al Qaeda. Ultimately, the defendant traveled to Kosovo in an effort to target American troops stationed there or to travel onward to Pakistan to join al Qaeda. The defendant also recorded a martyrdom video on the Albanian coast of his “last few moments” before he expected to depart for jannah, or paradise, reserved for martyrs. Shortly thereafter, on August 27, 2009, the defendant was arrested in Kosovo by the Kosovo Police Service. He was then transferred to the custody of agents and detectives of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force to face terrorism charges filed in the Eastern District of New York. At the time of his arrest, the defendant had already purchased a ticket to travel to Pakistan on September 15, 2009.

Testimony at trial established that Kaziu had been radicalized, in part, by Internet speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki and propaganda videos produced by al Qaeda and al Shabaab. The government also introduced at trial evidence from the defendant’s social networking website, including quotes by Osama Bin Laden.

United States Attorney Lynch thanked the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, the government of Kosovo, the U.S. State Department, the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance.

The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shreve Ariail, Seth D. DuCharme and Ali Kazemi, with assistance provided by Joanna Baltes of the National Security Division.

The Defendant

BETIM KAZIU

Age: 23

Brooklyn Man Convicted of Conspiracy to Kill U.S. Soldiers Abroad and Attempting to Provide Material Support to al Shabaab

BROOKLYN, NY—Following a two-week trial in the Eastern District of New York, a federal jury convicted Betim Kaziu today of conspiring to commit murder overseas, conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to use a machine gun in furtherance of those crimes. The evidence at trial established that the defendant traveled from Brooklyn to Cairo, Egypt in February 2009 in order to wage violent jihad against United States troops in the Middle East and the Balkans. While in Cairo, the defendant also attempted to acquire automatic weapons and to travel to Somalia to join al Shabaab, a Somali terrorist organization allied with al Qaeda. Ultimately, the defendant traveled to Kosovo in an effort to target American troops stationed there, or to travel onward to Pakistan to join al Qaeda.

While in the Balkans, the defendant recorded a martyrdom video on the Albanian coast of his “last few moments” before he expected to depart for jannah, or paradise reserved for martyrs. Shortly thereafter, on August 27, 2009, the defendant was arrested in Kosovo by the Kosovo Police Service. He was then transferred to the custody of agents and detectives of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force to face terrorism charges filed in the Eastern District of New York. At the time of his arrest, the defendant had already purchased a ticket to travel to Pakistan on September 15, 2009.

Testimony at trial established that the defendant had been radicalized, in part, by Internet speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki and propaganda videos produced by al Qaeda and al Shabaab. The government also introduced at trial evidence from the defendant’s social networking website, including quotes by Osama Bin Laden.

The defendant faces a sentence of up to life in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for November 4, 2011.

The convictions were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York.

“Through our judicial system, we have brought to justice a homegrown terrorist who conspired to kill U.S. troops overseas,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We are committed to using all available tools to combat terrorism wherever it threatens our citizens and our country.” Ms. Lynch thanked the government of Kosovo, the U.S. State Department, the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance.

The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shreve Ariail, Seth D. DuCharme and Ali Kazemi, with assistance provided by Joanna Baltes of the National Security Division.

The Defendant:

BETIM KAZIU

Age: 23

Wisconsin Guard members alerted for possible federal overseas mission

Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs

Approximately 160 Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers are on alert for possible mobilization to Kosovo in support of NATO-led international peace keeping operations, also known as KFOR. The Soldiers are mostly from the Milwaukee-based Headquarters Company, 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB) and the Oconomowoc-based 32nd Military Police (MP) Company, and will potentially be mobilized for federal active duty in 2012.

The alert notification, which the Soldiers received Saturday (March 5), directs the units and Soldiers to begin preparing for possible mobilization. The unit has not been ordered to active duty.

The 32nd MP Company most recently deployed to Iraq from 2009-10 with the 32nd Infantry Brigade. The 157th MEB, a new brigade, has never deployed; however, components of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade, which transformed into the 157th MEB in 2007, have deployed. Members of the 57th Brigade headquarters company deployed to Afghanistan as an embedded training team in 2006.

Since Sept. 11, 2001 every unit in the Wisconsin Guard has deployed forces in support of the global war on terrorism, many more than once. While there are currently about 700 Guard members on active duty, the remaining more than 9,000 are available in the event of state emergencies or to support homeland defense or security missions.