May 22, 2006 1:35 pm US/Eastern
Prosecutor: Man Is Subway Bomb Plot Mastermind
NEW YORK (AP) ―
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Shahawar Matin Siraj headshot, man charged with plotting to bomb a Manhattan subway station (File).
AP
A police informant's secret recordings of a Pakistani immigrant's incessant brainstorming about death and destruction proved the man was the mastermind of a 2004 plot to blow up a busy subway station, a federal prosecutor told jurors Monday in closing arguments.
Shahawar Matin Siraj, 23, was arrested on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention on charges he planned to attack a subway station in Herald Square, the dense Manhattan shopping district that includes Macy's flagship department store.
In hours of recordings played at his trial, "you heard the defendant carefully, deliberately and matter-of-factly plan bombing attack after bombing attack without fear or remorse," prosecutor Marshall Miller told the jurors.
The defense, which was to follow Miller's presentation, has characterized Siraj as a harmless dupe who was entrapped by a paid informant in a phony plot that never got off the ground.
Taking the witness stand in his own defense last week, Siraj testified that he never had a violent thought before he met the informant, an Egyptian who inflamed his rage toward the United States by showing him photos of prisoners being abused at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Miller argued that Siraj received little encouragement from the informant while cooking up a scheme to inflict severe economic damage on America. He allegedly considered attacking bridges and Times Square before deciding the Herald Square station was the best target.
"It was the defendant who took the initiative and led the way," he said.
The jury also heard testimony by a Bangladeshi-born undercover police officer, who met Siraj while infiltrating a Muslim neighborhood as part of an investigation following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
During one conversation, Siraj "complimented" Osama bin Laden, the officer testified.
"He said he was a talented brother and a great planner and that he hoped bin Laden planned something big for America," said the officer, who testified under an alias because he is still involved in active investigations.
If convicted, Siraj could face up to 20 years in prison.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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