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{{Short description|Egyptian al-Qaeda member}}
{{Infobox person
{{BLP sources|date=May 2022}}
| image =
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Mahmud Abouhalima
| caption =
| image = Mahmud Abouhalima.jpg
| name = Mahmud Abouhalima
| birth_name =
| caption = Abouhalima (c. 1994)
| birth_date = 1959
| birth_name =
| birth_place = [[Kafr Dawar]], [[Egypt]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|12|14}}
| death_date =
| birth_place = [[Kafr Dawar]], [[Egypt]]
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[ADX Florence]], the Federal ADX [[Supermax prison]] in [[Florence, Colorado]].<ref name="inmatefinder">{{cite news | url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Mahmud+&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=37&y=15 | title=Locate a Federal Inmate: Mahmud Abouhalima | publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] |year= 2009 | first= | last= | accessdate =2009-08-17}}</ref>
| other_names =
| death_cause =
| known_for = [[1993 World Trade Center Bombing]]
| known_for = [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]]
| other_names = Mahmud the Red
| education =
| criminal_penalty = 240 years imprisonment; commuted to 78 years and 4 months imprisonment
| employer =
| criminal_status = [[Incarcerated]]
| occupation =
| title =
| imprisoned = [[ADX Florence]]
| conviction = [[Title 18 of the United States Code|Conspiracy to bomb a building used in interstate and foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. § 844)]]<br />[[Title 18 of the United States Code|Conspiracy to bomb property and vehicles owned, used, and leased by an agency of the United States (18 U.S.C. § 844)]]<br />[[Title 18 of the United States Code|Conspiracy to transport explosives in interstate commerce (18 U.S.C. § 844)]]<br />[[Title 18 of the United States Code|Conspiracy to bomb or destroy a vehicle used in interstate commerce resulting in death (18 U.S.C. §§ 33 and 34)]] (2 counts)<br />[[Title 18 of the United States Code|Conspiracy to assault federal officers (18 U.S.C. § 111)]]<br />[[Title 18 of the United States Code|Conspiracy to use and carry a destructive device during a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924)]]<br>[[Making false statements|Making false statements on immigration documents (18 U.S.C. § 1952)]]
| salary =
| networth =
| height =
| weight =
| term =
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| religion =
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| footnotes =
}}
}}


'''Mahmud Abouhalima''' ({{lang-ar|'''محمود أبو حليمه '''}}; born 1959) is a convicted perpetrator of the [[1993 World Trade Center Bombing]]. His [[red hair]] earned him the [[nickname]] '''Mahmud the Red'''.<ref name="sacredcows">Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002</ref>
'''Mahmud Abouhalima''' ({{lang-ar|محمود أبو حليمة}}) (born December 14, 1958) is an Egyptian citizen who is convicted as perpetrator of the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]]. He is currently serving a 67-year sentence at [[ADX Florence]] in [[Florence, Colorado]] for his role in the bombing.


==Life==
==Life==


Born to a mill foreman in [[Kafr Dawar]], [[Egypt]], Abouhalima spent his adolescence with the [[Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya]], an outlawed [[Islam]]ic group that heralded [[Omar Abdel Rahman]] as their spiritual leader. He briefly attended [[Alexandria University]], but dropped out and left Egypt altogether in 1981, moving to Germany. There, he later recalled he had lived a life "of corruption - girls, drugs, you name it".<ref name="sacredcows"/>
Born to a mill foreman in [[Kafr Dawar]], [[Egypt]], Abouhalima spent his adolescence with the [[Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya]], an outlawed [[Islam]]ic group that heralded [[Omar Abdel Rahman]] as their spiritual leader. He briefly attended [[Alexandria University]], but dropped out and left Egypt altogether in 1981, moving to Germany. There, he later recalled he had lived a life "of corruption - girls, drugs, you name it".<ref name="sacredcows">Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002</ref>


The following year, [[Germany]] denied him [[Refugee|political asylum]] and he quickly married Renate Soika, a troubled [[Germans|German]] woman, which guaranteed he could remain in the country. He divorced Soika three years later, but shortly after he married another woman named Marianne Weber in a [[Muslim]] ceremony. He flew to [[Brooklyn]] with his new wife and after his [[United States|American]] tourist [[Visa (document)|visa]] expired, applied for amnesty claiming to be an agricultural worker and was accepted as a permanent resident under the [[Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986]].
The following year, [[Germany]] denied him [[Refugee|political asylum]], and he quickly married Renate Soika, a troubled [[Germans|German]] woman, which guaranteed he could remain in the country. He divorced Soika three years later but in short order married another woman named Marianne Weber in a [[Muslim]] ceremony. He flew to [[Brooklyn]] with his new wife and after his [[United States|American]] tourist [[Visa (document)|visa]] expired, applied for amnesty claiming to be an agricultural worker and was accepted as a permanent resident under the [[Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986]].


He worked as a [[New York]] cabdriver for five years from 1986–1991, though he saw his license suspended ten times during that period, for failing to attend [[Traffic Court|traffic court]] for cab violations including traffic violations and an attempt to overcharge a customer.
He worked as a [[New York City]] cabdriver for five years from 1986–1991, though he saw his license suspended ten times during that period, for failing to attend [[Traffic Court|traffic court]] for cab violations including traffic violations and an attempt to overcharge a customer.


In his free time, Abouhalima worked long hours for a non-profit group in Brooklyn that raised money for the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] [[Mujahideen]].
In his free time, Abouhalima worked long hours for a non-profit group in Brooklyn that raised money for the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] [[Mujahideen]].


==Militancy==
==Militancy==
Abouhalima travelled to Afghanistan in 1988, saying he wanted to prove he "was a Muslim, not a sheep", and received combat-training in [[Peshawar]].<ref name="sacredcows"/>
Abouhalima travelled to Afghanistan in 1988, saying he wanted to prove he "was a Muslim, not a sheep", and received combat-training in [[Peshawar]].<ref name="sacredcows"/><ref name=Fordham/>


[[Ali Mohamed]], a sergeant at Fort Bragg, provided [[United States Army]] manuals and other assistance to individuals at the al-Farouq Mosque, and some members including Abouhalima and [[El Sayyid Nosair]] practiced at the Calverton Shooting Range on [[Long Island]], many of the group wearing [[t-shirt]]s reading "Help Each Other in Goodness and Piety...A Muslim to a Muslim is a Brick Wall" with a map of Afghanistan emblazoned in the middle. Abouhalima wore an [[National Rifle Association|NRA]] cap during their practices.<ref name="sacredcows"/><ref name="benjamin">{{cite book |title=The Age of Sacred Terror |author=Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon |publisher=Random House |year=2003 |pages=4–6}}</ref> When Nosair assassinated [[Meir Kahane]], Abouhalima was driving the purported [[getaway car]], although Nosair accidentally jumped into another cab by mistake.<ref name="sacredcows"/>
[[Ali Mohamed (double agent)|Ali Mohamed]], a sergeant at Fort Bragg, provided [[United States Army]] manuals and other assistance to individuals at the al-Farouq Mosque, and some members including Abouhalima and [[El Sayyid Nosair]] practiced at the Calverton Shooting Range on [[Long Island]], many of the group wearing [[t-shirt]]s reading "Help Each Other in Goodness and Piety...A Muslim to a Muslim is a Brick Wall" with a map of Afghanistan emblazoned in the middle. Abouhalima wore an [[National Rifle Association|NRA]] cap during their practices.<ref name="sacredcows"/><ref name="benjamin">{{cite book |title=The Age of Sacred Terror |url=https://archive.org/details/ageofsacredterro0000benj |url-access=registration |author=Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon |publisher=Random House |year=2003 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ageofsacredterro0000benj/page/4 4]–6|isbn=9780812969849 }}</ref> When Nosair assassinated [[Meir Kahane]], Abouhalima was driving the purported [[getaway car]], although Nosair accidentally jumped into another cab by mistake.<ref name="sacredcows"/>


He was the subject of an [[FBI]] investigation through January 1993, at which point the investigation was called off, shortly before the [[World Trade Center bombing]]. On February 26, 1993, the day of the WTC bombing, he was seen by several witnesses with [[Mohammed A. Salameh]] at the [[Jersey City]] storage facility allegedly used to prepare the explosives.
He was the subject of an [[FBI]] investigation through January 1993, at which point the investigation was called off, shortly before the [[World Trade Center bombing]]. On February 26, 1993, the day of the WTC bombing, he was seen by several witnesses with [[Mohammed A. Salameh]] at the [[Jersey City]] storage facility allegedly used to prepare the explosives.


==Capture==
==Capture==
Abouhalima fled to [[Saudi Arabia]], and then back to his native [[Egypt]] where he was captured by Egyptian police, tortured,<ref name="sacredcows"/> and handed back to the United States, [[mummified]] in [[duct tape]].<ref name="mayer">[[Jane Mayer|Mayer, Jane]], "[[The Dark Side (book)|The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals]]", 2008. p. 118</ref>
Abouhalima fled to [[Saudi Arabia]], and then back to his native [[Egypt]] where he was captured by Egyptian police, tortured,<ref name="sacredcows"/> and handed back to the United States, imprisoned in a cocoon of [[duct tape]].<ref name="mayer">[[Jane Mayer|Mayer, Jane]], "[[The Dark Side (book)|The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals]]", 2008. p. 118</ref>


In March 1994, he received a sentence of 240 years in prison with no possibility of [[parole]]. After an appeal, the sentence was later reduced to 1,300 months.<ref>[http://openjurist.org/261/f3d/271/united-states-of-america-v-mohammad-a-salameh-nidal-ayyad-ahmad-mohammad-ajaj 261 F. 3d 271 - United States of America v. Mohammad A. Salameh, et al.]</ref> He is currently an inmate at [[ADX Florence]] in [[Florence, Colorado]]. His current release date as stated on the Bureau of Prisons website is 09-20-2087.<ref>[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=IDSearch&needingMoreList=false&IDType=IRN&IDNumber=28064-054&x=48&y=13] retrieved on 12-26-2010. {{cite news | url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Mahmud+&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=37&y=15 | title=Locate a Federal Inmate: Mahmud Abouhalima | publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] |year= 2009 | first= | last= | accessdate =2009-08-17}}</ref> His [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] ID# is 28064-054.<ref>"[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=mahmud&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=72&y=24 Mahmud Abouhalima]." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.</ref>
In March 1994, Abouhalima was sentenced to 240 years in prison. After an appeal, the sentence was later reduced to 1,300 months.<ref>[http://openjurist.org/261/f3d/271/united-states-of-america-v-mohammad-a-salameh-nidal-ayyad-ahmad-mohammad-ajaj 261 F. 3d 271 - United States of America v. Mohammad A. Salameh, et al.]</ref> In 2021, one of Abouhalima's convictions were overturned, cutting his sentence by 30 years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-26 |title=4 men convicted in 1993 World Trade Center bombing have had sentences cut |url=https://fox40.com/news/national-and-world-news/4-men-convicted-in-1993-world-trade-center-bombing-have-had-sentences-cut/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=FOX40 |language=en-US}}</ref> He is currently an inmate at [[ADX Florence]] in [[Florence, Colorado]]. He is scheduled for release on March 8, 2060.<ref>[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=IDSearch&needingMoreList=false&IDType=IRN&IDNumber=28064-054&x=48&y=13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629181735/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=IDSearch&needingMoreList=false&IDType=IRN&IDNumber=28064-054&x=48&y=13|date=2011-06-29}} retrieved on 12-26-2010. {{cite news |year=2009 |title=Locate a Federal Inmate: Mahmud Abouhalima |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] |url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Mahmud+&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=37&y=15 |url-status=dead |accessdate=2009-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212132736/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Mahmud+&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=37&y=15 |archive-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> Abouhalima's [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] ID# is 28064-054.<ref>"[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=mahmud&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=72&y=24 Mahmud Abouhalima] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612052454/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=mahmud&Middle=&LastName=Abouhalima&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=72&y=24 |date=2012-06-12 }}." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Fordham>{{cite journal

|url = https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=85+Fordham+L.+Rev.+183&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=63a0fe8e9cecf9f295b262e9b93c73c8
{{Persondata
|title = THREATS AGAINST AMERICA: THE SECOND CIRCUIT AS ARBITER OF NATIONAL SECURITY LAW
| NAME = Abouhalima, Mahmud
|journal = [[Fordham Law Review]]
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
|date = October 2016
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Egyptian al-Qaeda member
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1959
|author = D. Raskin
|accessdate = 2016-09-27
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Kafr Dawar]], [[Egypt]]
|quote = ... and Mahmoud Abouhalima, an Egyptian who had attended the Khalden terrorist training camp in Afghanistan ...
| DATE OF DEATH =
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161001161508/https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=85+Fordham+L.+Rev.+183&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=63a0fe8e9cecf9f295b262e9b93c73c8
| PLACE OF DEATH =
|archive-date = 2016-10-01
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>
}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abouhalima, Mahmud}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abouhalima, Mahmud}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century criminals]]
[[Category:Al-Qaeda bombers]]
[[Category:Egyptian al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:Egyptian al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:People imprisoned on charges of terrorism]]
[[Category:Egyptian mass murderers]]
[[Category:People from Beheira Governorate]]
[[Category:Egyptian people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:Inmates of ADX Florence]]
[[Category:Egyptian people imprisoned abroad]]
[[Category:Egyptian people imprisoned abroad]]
[[Category:Egyptian torture victims]]
[[Category:Egyptian torture victims]]
[[Category:20th-century criminals]]
[[Category:Inmates of ADX Florence]]
[[Category:Egyptian mass murderers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by the United States federal government]]
[[Category:People from Beheira Governorate]]
[[Category:People imprisoned on charges of terrorism]]

Latest revision as of 09:18, 2 June 2023

Mahmud Abouhalima
Abouhalima (c. 1994)
Born (1958-12-14) December 14, 1958 (age 65)
Other namesMahmud the Red
Known for1993 World Trade Center bombing
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Conviction(s)Conspiracy to bomb a building used in interstate and foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. § 844)
Conspiracy to bomb property and vehicles owned, used, and leased by an agency of the United States (18 U.S.C. § 844)
Conspiracy to transport explosives in interstate commerce (18 U.S.C. § 844)
Conspiracy to bomb or destroy a vehicle used in interstate commerce resulting in death (18 U.S.C. §§ 33 and 34) (2 counts)
Conspiracy to assault federal officers (18 U.S.C. § 111)
Conspiracy to use and carry a destructive device during a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924)
Making false statements on immigration documents (18 U.S.C. § 1952)
Criminal penalty240 years imprisonment; commuted to 78 years and 4 months imprisonment
Imprisoned atADX Florence

Mahmud Abouhalima (Arabic: محمود أبو حليمة) (born December 14, 1958) is an Egyptian citizen who is convicted as perpetrator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He is currently serving a 67-year sentence at ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado for his role in the bombing.

Life[edit]

Born to a mill foreman in Kafr Dawar, Egypt, Abouhalima spent his adolescence with the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an outlawed Islamic group that heralded Omar Abdel Rahman as their spiritual leader. He briefly attended Alexandria University, but dropped out and left Egypt altogether in 1981, moving to Germany. There, he later recalled he had lived a life "of corruption - girls, drugs, you name it".[1]

The following year, Germany denied him political asylum, and he quickly married Renate Soika, a troubled German woman, which guaranteed he could remain in the country. He divorced Soika three years later but in short order married another woman named Marianne Weber in a Muslim ceremony. He flew to Brooklyn with his new wife and after his American tourist visa expired, applied for amnesty claiming to be an agricultural worker and was accepted as a permanent resident under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

He worked as a New York City cabdriver for five years from 1986–1991, though he saw his license suspended ten times during that period, for failing to attend traffic court for cab violations including traffic violations and an attempt to overcharge a customer.

In his free time, Abouhalima worked long hours for a non-profit group in Brooklyn that raised money for the Afghan Mujahideen.

Militancy[edit]

Abouhalima travelled to Afghanistan in 1988, saying he wanted to prove he "was a Muslim, not a sheep", and received combat-training in Peshawar.[1][2]

Ali Mohamed, a sergeant at Fort Bragg, provided United States Army manuals and other assistance to individuals at the al-Farouq Mosque, and some members including Abouhalima and El Sayyid Nosair practiced at the Calverton Shooting Range on Long Island, many of the group wearing t-shirts reading "Help Each Other in Goodness and Piety...A Muslim to a Muslim is a Brick Wall" with a map of Afghanistan emblazoned in the middle. Abouhalima wore an NRA cap during their practices.[1][3] When Nosair assassinated Meir Kahane, Abouhalima was driving the purported getaway car, although Nosair accidentally jumped into another cab by mistake.[1]

He was the subject of an FBI investigation through January 1993, at which point the investigation was called off, shortly before the World Trade Center bombing. On February 26, 1993, the day of the WTC bombing, he was seen by several witnesses with Mohammed A. Salameh at the Jersey City storage facility allegedly used to prepare the explosives.

Capture[edit]

Abouhalima fled to Saudi Arabia, and then back to his native Egypt where he was captured by Egyptian police, tortured,[1] and handed back to the United States, imprisoned in a cocoon of duct tape.[4]

In March 1994, Abouhalima was sentenced to 240 years in prison. After an appeal, the sentence was later reduced to 1,300 months.[5] In 2021, one of Abouhalima's convictions were overturned, cutting his sentence by 30 years.[6] He is currently an inmate at ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado. He is scheduled for release on March 8, 2060.[7] Abouhalima's Federal Bureau of Prisons ID# is 28064-054.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002
  2. ^ D. Raskin (October 2016). "THREATS AGAINST AMERICA: THE SECOND CIRCUIT AS ARBITER OF NATIONAL SECURITY LAW". Fordham Law Review. Archived from the original on 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2016-09-27. ... and Mahmoud Abouhalima, an Egyptian who had attended the Khalden terrorist training camp in Afghanistan ...
  3. ^ Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon (2003). The Age of Sacred Terror. Random House. pp. 4–6. ISBN 9780812969849.
  4. ^ Mayer, Jane, "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals", 2008. p. 118
  5. ^ 261 F. 3d 271 - United States of America v. Mohammad A. Salameh, et al.
  6. ^ "4 men convicted in 1993 World Trade Center bombing have had sentences cut". FOX40. 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  7. ^ [1] Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on 12-26-2010. "Locate a Federal Inmate: Mahmud Abouhalima". Federal Bureau of Prisons. 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  8. ^ "Mahmud Abouhalima Archived 2012-06-12 at the Wayback Machine." Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.