FBI Informant to Be Called in Sheik Trial

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http://www.sierratimes.com/rss/newswire.php?article=/ap/20050211/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/terror_money&time=1108138519&feed=mideast


An FBI informant who set himself on fire in front of the White House will be called as a witness for the defense of a Yemeni sheik accused of aiding Hamas and al-Qaida, defense attorneys said Friday.

Lawyers for Sheik Mohammed Ali Hasan al-Moayad and his assistant said they have subpoenaed Mohamed Alanssi, who helped build the FBI's case by posing as the go-between for al-Moayad and another informant playing an American Muslim who wanted help funneling millions of dollars to terrorists

The decision is a high-stakes gamble for defense lawyers, who want to undermine the prosecution by introducing questions about Alanssi's credibility and troubled personal history. Alanssi is the sole source of some of the government's most dramatic claims about al-Moayad, including the allegation that the sheik said he personally handed $20 million to Osama bin Laden.

Defense lawyers said they would request the unsealing of a bank fraud case filed against Alanssi last year. Alanssi was to have been the star prosecution witness until he set his clothing on fire in front of the White House last November to protest what he called the FBI's failure to make good on promises of wealth and American citizenship.