Sources: Al Qaeda suspect to be moved to New York
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(CNN) -- A Canadian of Somali descent held as a material witness in the 9/11 investigation will be transferred from Minnesota to New York as early as Wednesday, a legal representative for the man's family said.
Mohammed Warsame, 30, appeared Tuesday in a closed hearing in federal court in Minneapolis, Minnesota, said Omar Jamal, a Somali community activist who has been advising Warsame's family.
Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, said a judge authorized the transfer within five days. Jamal said he was told Warsame was not charged with any crimes.
Warsame was taken into custody December 8 in Minneapolis. He is suspected of attending an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. government. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune first reported his detention.
U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger in Minneapolis said he cannot comment on the case while details remain under court seal.
U.S. officials declined to comment on why Warsame is being sent to New York but said his transfer is imminent. The U.S. attorney's office in New York has not commented on its role in the case.
Law enforcement sources said Warsame offered some information on suspected terrorism conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
Moussaoui, 35, is the only defendant facing trial in connection to the September 11, 2001, attacks. His behavior at a Minneapolis-area flight school led to his arrest a month before the terror attacks.
Sources have said that Warsame is expected to play a role in an ongoing investigation, but he is not considered to be vitally important in the war on terror.
Several sources have expressed frustration over the leak of Warsame's name. Facts relating to material witnesses, including their identity, are supposed to remain under seal. The sources indicated that law enforcement officials intended to use Warsame as an informant in the future. But the revelation of his identity would make such a use impossible, the sources said.
Warsame's wife, Farun Farah, has been able to see him several times in jail. At a news conference last week with Somali community leaders, she denied her husband had any terrorism connections.
Warsame works as a computer science tutor at Minneapolis Community Technical College, Jamal said. He said he plans to travel to New York next week to help find Warsame a new attorney.
Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, said Canadian officials met Friday with Warsame in jail but that they did not say why he was being held.
At that time, Doiron said he understood that U.S. authorities were considering transferring Warsame to the Southern District of New York, where a federal grand jury has been investigating the September 11 attacks.
Moussaoui, a Frenchman of Moroccan heritage, initially was arrested on an immigration violation after he aroused suspicion at a flight school where he sought jetliner simulator training.
He faces six charges, including conspiracy to commit terrorism and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
Prosecutors have said Moussaoui's actions after his arrival in the United States in February 2001 mirrored those of the September 11 hijackers
Moussaoui admits belonging to al Qaeda and swears loyalty to its leader, Osama bin Laden. He contends he was planning to participate in a later attack outside the United States.
A ruling by the trial judge in Moussaoui's case that would give him the right to question fellow al Qaeda detainees is before a federal appeals court. Moussaoui has said the detainees will clear him of involvement in the September 11 attacks.
At the appeal hearing this month, the Justice Department argued Moussaoui has no right to question al Qaeda detainees.
The appeals ruling is expected to affect how terrorism cases are prosecuted in U.S. civilian courts.
CNN's Kelli Arena, Ingrid Arnesen, Carol Cratty and Phil Hirschkorn contributed to this report.
