Mohammed Mosharref Hossain is the proprietor of an Albany

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parlour, and a founder of the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, who was arrested by Federal authorities on August 6, 2004, as part of a counter-terrorism sting. Hossain and an associate, Yassin M. Aref, were convicted of conspiring to aid a terrorist group, supporting a foreign terrorist organization, and money-laundering, and sentenced to 15 years in jail. In July 2008 the appellate court upheld the convictions, rejecting all of the defense's arguments. Hossain was born in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The ''Albany Times Union'' reports that US forces found Aref's name, address, and phone number in a notebook found in a bombed out Iraqi encampment. The FBI sent an informer to make contact with Aref through Hossain, to try to get them to participate in an illegal arms deal. The ''Times Union'' reported that their lawyers filed motions to learn whether the pair were subjected to warrantless surveillance by the

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. Normally the NSA is not authorized to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans, only foreign nationals. However, in December 2005, ''the

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'' revealed that

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had taken the controversial step of secretly authorizing the NSA to expand its surveillance to within the

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. Bush claimed that the

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empowered him to authorize warrantless wiretaps when the

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granted him the authority to use force in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. According to their lawyers, if it is determined that President Bush's authorization of warrantless wiretaps were unconstitutional, and Aref had been investigated through warrantless wiretaps, the prosecution's case would be "jeopardized". A

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indicted Hossain and Aref on October 1, 2005. He was convicted of conspiring to aid a terrorist group, supporting a foreign terrorist organization, and money-laundering, and sentenced to 15 years in jail. In June 2020, Mohammed Hossain, who was imprisoned for nearly 15 years following his arrest for money laundering in a 2004 FBI militant operation, would leave federal jail early after a federal judge approved his legal appeal for early release.

References

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Suspects raise domestic spy issue: 2 Albany Muslim men accused in FBI sting seek information
'' Times Union'', January 5, 2006 #
FBI’s Albany terror “sting” begins to unravel
''

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'', August 19, 2004 #
Wiretaps never discussed with Congress
''

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'', December 23, 2005 #
Grand Jury Indicts Two N.Y. Mosque Leaders
''

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'', October 1, 2005 #
Terror suspect wants own trial: Albany pizza shop owner says case against imam hurts his chance with jurors
'' Times Union'', December 10, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hossain, Mohammed Mosharref Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Bangladeshi male criminals Bangladeshi emigrants to the United States American Muslims American people imprisoned on charges of terrorism Businesspeople from Albany, New York People convicted of money laundering