Sharif Mobley ( ar, شريف موبلي; born January 19, 1984) was initially arrested in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

January 26, 2010 by Yemeni counter-terrorism officers and charged with terrorism. There was a shooting during his arrest in which he was injured and taken to the hospital. During his initial stay at the hospital, two members of the US Government interviewed him. The US Embassy told his family they did not know his whereabouts. During the interviews with officials from the American government, he requested that information be passed on to his family. His family has reportedly not received any updates on his situation. After his recovery from a gun shot to the leg he was released into the custody of the Yemeni prison authorities. All charges of terrorism were dropped but he was not released from prison. Later he was charged with murdering a prison guard during an alleged escape attempt while at a follow-up visit to the hospital for complications from his initial arrest March 7, 2010. Mobley had moved to Yemen in 2008 and was in process getting visa updates from the US Embassy in preparation for returning to the US with his family when he was arrested. His family was able to return to the US shortly after his arrest. During his incarceration in Yemen, his whereabouts have been in question. While he was in the custody of the normal Yemeni prison authorities, he was not brought to a number of trial dates and his lawyers do not have access to him. He was not present for four trial dates and the Yemeni prison authorities indicated he is no longer in their custody. The Yemeni Attorney General told the trial judge that he did not know where Sharif Mobley was physically located. US Embassy official William Lesh, said that the US Embassy had been in touch with him at an undisclosed location but would not reveal his whereabouts or which law enforcement group had him in their custody nor would the US Embassy assist his lawyers in contacting him. Mobley is an American citizen who was raised as a Muslim. He stated he had traveled to Yemen for the purpose of studying

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and Islam, although U.S. officials initially claimed his purpose was to join a militant group. After his arrest, two US Government agents interviewed him several times and agreed that he was not a terrorist and he had no knowledge or information about activities of interest to the US Government. After charges of terrorism were dropped he was not released from prison. During a follow-up hospital visit for complications from the initial gunshot wound received during his arrest, he allegedly made an escape attempt, during which he allegedly shot two guards, one fatally, and was charged with murder. Mobley's wife, Nzinga Islam, received a clandestine phone call from Sharif Mobley on Sept 15, 2014. Mobley has not appeared at a number of pre-trial hearings.

Biography

Mobley's parents were both born in the United States. Following his arrest, he was reported to have been of Somali descent, however law enforcement officials and family friends indicated that this information was incorrect. Mobley was raised in

Atlantic County, New Jersey Atlantic County is a county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.black belt, and graduated from high school in 2002. He moved to Philadelphia and then to

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

. He is married, and has a daughter. In 2005, he earned $75 as an election day worker for the campaign of Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

. Mobley received an Islamic upbringing, and as a child, studied Islamic philosophy and

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

classes at Masjid Quba in Philadelphia, according to the imam, Anas Muhaimin. Mobley was described by former high school classmates as having had "strong religious views" at the time, and having become more radical following graduation. A former colleague who went on to do a military tour 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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, Roman Castro, said the last time he saw Mobley, in 2006, Mobley yelled at him: "Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!" In

, an imam, Abdel-Hadi Shehata, said Mobley had lived in the same apartment complex in the area and occasionally attended the Islamic Society of Delaware (ISD). Shehata said Mobley never discussed his political or religious perspectives with him, and would sometimes ask advice about Islamic religious rituals. Before 2008, he organized religious pilgrimages to the Middle East. Umar Hassan-El, assistant imam at, ISD's mosque in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

who shared a room with Mobley during the Hajj in 2004, said, "He gave no indication that he would join a group that he's alleged to be a part of right now. I never heard that boy ever talk about shooting anybody, killing anybody." The FBI and another law-enforcement stated that they did not know of any criminal charges against Mobley in the U.S.

Yemen

In 2007, Mobley returned to Masjid Quba, attending on occasion and consulting the imam there about his plans to study in Yemen. The imam says he tried to discourage him from going to Yemen, suggesting that he instead go to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, but Mobley refused his advice and has not returned to the mosque for three years. According to one report, Mobley had been in Yemen "for at least a year" prior to the shooting. At first he studied Arabic at a language institute in

Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Gover ...

and then Al-Eman University, which is run by Sheikh

Abdul Majeed al-Zindani Abdul Majeed al-Zindani (; born in 1942 in Ibb, Yemen) is a leading Islamist, founder and head of the Iman University in Yemen, head of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood political movement and founder of the Commission on Scientific Signs in the Q ...

. A later report indicated he had traveled to Yemen two years prior. Two years before the shooting, he moved to Yemen supposedly to study Arabic and Islam, but a law enforcement official said he had traveled overseas for the purpose of joining a terrorist organization. The last time his mother Cynthia spoke to him was in January. A U.S. law enforcement official said the government had been aware of Mobley's possible extremist ties "long before" he was arrested. Mobley was in contact with

Anwar al-Awlaki Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, al-Awlaqi; ar, أنور العولقي, Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21 or 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American imam who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone strik ...

, the al-Qaeda former imam now based in Yemen who was also in contact with three of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

hijackers, the Christmas Day Bomber, and

Nidal Malik Hasan Nidal (in Arabic نضال meaning warrior in Arabic) is a given name in Arabic. It may refer to: * Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar (born 1956), Syrian politician and government minister *Abou Nidal, Côte d'Ivoirian singer * Umm Nidal (1948–2013), Palest ...

, the

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

shooter, according to officials from the U.S. and Yemen. He hoped al-Awlaki would become his al Qaeda mentor, according to senior U.S. security officials.

Initial detention

Mobley was detained in early March 2010 in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, one of 11 suspected al-Qaeda and al-Shabab affiliated militants; one suspected militant was killed during the raid resulting in the arrests. On Tuesday, March 3 (three days prior to the shooting), Yemeni security forces arrested 11 members of al-Qaeda during a raid on a location frequented by that cell in the Sawad Hansh area of Sana'a. A Yemeni source reported that following a thorough investigation and surveillance, Yemeni security forces raided a residence belonging to the father of one of the wanted militants. During the raid, the suspect's father opened fire on the security forces hitting one of the officers. The suspect's father was killed in the ensuing firefight. Mobley was initially incorrectly identified in the Yemeni press as being a German citizen of

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

origin. On the day of the shooting, Mobley was incorrectly identified by ''News Yemen'', a Yemeni English language newspaper, as "Shareef Mubaili, ... a German of Somali origin." ''CNN Arabic'' reported that the "German Mubaili" was severely injured during a shootout at the Republican Hospital after stealing a guard's gun. According to a "senior official", he was detained at a high security intelligence prison several months ago while the Yemeni Embassy in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, said he had been detained earlier this month. He is suspected of being a member of the same al-Qaeda branch as

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ( ar, عمر فاروق عبد المطلب ; also known as Umar Abdul Mutallab and Omar Farooq al-Nigeri; born December 22, 1986) popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber" or "Christmas Bomber", is a Nigerian-bor ...

, who failed in his attempt to bomb a passenger plane on Christmas Day, 2009.

Missed court dates

No formal charges have been brought against Sharif Mobley or presented to his legal advisors. The initial allegations relating to

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

were dropped. There are no legal proceedings against him for any previously asserted connections to terrorism or terrorist-related activities, or for any association with any terrorist or alleged terrorists. There are no legal proceedings against him for any association with any

terrorist organization A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...

or any terrorism-related conspiracies. Mobley is currently alleged to have killed a guard while attempting an escape from a hospital where he was being treated while in custody of the Yemen prison authorities. His is currently in the custody of the Yemen National Security Bureau (NSB). His physical location is officially unknown. Although consular staff have seen and talked with him they are not able to disclose his location as US State Department Privacy Act rules prohibit disclosing information regarding U.S Citizens Missing Abroad.

A U.S. law called the Privacy Act is designed to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens. The Act states that we may not reveal information regarding a U.S. citizen's location, welfare, intentions, or problems to anyone, including the citizen's family members and Congressional representatives, without the written consent of that individual. Although we recognize that this law may occasionally cause distress to concerned families, we must comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act if the individual has asked us not to share information about him or her.

Mobley has not been brought to the following trial dates.

Continued detention

Mobley was initially held in the Yemen Central Prison located in Sana'a. Sometime after February 27, 2014 when he was last seen by his lawyers at the Central Prison, he was moved to an unknown location but believed to be a prison run by the Yemen National Security Bureau (NSB) and is now under control of the Yemen

Specialized Criminal Court The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) ( ar, المحكمة الجزائية المتخصصة) is a non- Sharia court created in Saudi Arabia in 2008 that tries suspected terrorists and human rights activists. On 26 June 2011, the court started tr ...

. On September 26, 2014, Nzinga Islam learned her husband was believed to be in the custody of the Yemen NSB.

Allegations of unsanitary conditions

On September 11, 2014, Sharif Mobley made an unapproved/unofficial cellphone call to his wife. During a 10-minute conversation, Mobley described enduring acts of brutality and torture. One of these, was being forced to drink "water out of bottles that had contained urine". Carlton Benson, a consular officer at the US embassy in Yemen, confirmed that Mobley is held in unsanitary conditions and did have to drink from a "dirty" glass. In an email dated September 29, 2014, he also disclosed that Mobley is not allowed any utensils. Without utensils Mobley would have to eat with his hands or if his hands are shackled, directly with his mouth. Benson requested the Mobley family send a care package to the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

for Mobley, with clean cups and plastic utensils. He was uncertain if he could persuade the prison authorities to allow Mobley the plastic utensils. A U.S. consular officer, during a consular visit to Mobley in mid/late September, questioned a guard who confirmed the mistreatment.

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

In October 2014 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

OHCHR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...

, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, questioned Yemen and the US regarding Mr Mobley's disappearance. Following an investigation that started in May 2014, the OHCHR requested that Yemen ensure that Mr. Mobley would not be detained arbitrarily or subject to unfair legal proceedings.

Yemen

Yemen Uprising January 2015 An uprising of

Houthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

groups in opposition to the existing government of Yemen have taken control of the capital city of Sana'a. US Embassy Closure February 2015 The Yemeni Government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi collapsed after the opposition group of

Houthis The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

took control of the capital Sana'a. The US has closed the US Embassy in the capital and has withdrawn all embassy personnel and diplomatic staff according to US State Department spokesperson

Jen Psaki Jennifer Rene Psaki (; born c. 1978) is an American television political analyst who currently works for MSNBC. Previously, she was a political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations. Immediately prior to working for ...

. Yemeni

Rebels May 2015 The conflict in Yemen escalated and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

began to bomb the capital Sana'a and the prison complex where Sharif Mobley was unofficially held was hit multiple times during a Saudi bombing run. Reports from May 30, 2015 indicate that Sharif Mobley along with other Americans that were still in Yemen, may now be in Houthi custody.

Shooting

Following his arrest, he claimed he was sick and was transferred to the Republican Hospital, also in Sana'a. He was treated for complications involving a metal rod which had previously been implanted in his leg. He spent a week at the hospital, where he befriended the guards assigned to him, praying with them, reading

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

together, and asking them to teach him Arabic. Sana

On March 7, 2010, he persuaded a guard to unshackle him at prayer time. The guard then went into the washroom to perform the

ablution Ablution is the act of washing oneself. It may refer to: * Ablution as hygiene * Ablution as ritual purification ** Ablution in Islam: *** Wudu, daily wash *** Ghusl, bathing ablution *** Tayammum, waterless ablution ** Ablution in Christianity * ...

required for prayers, and reportedly left his gun unattended on a chair. At this time, a second guard who had been present left the room and Mobley picked up the gun, and as the first guard exited the washroom Mobley shot him once in the head and then in the chest, killing him almost instantly. Another guard heard the gunshots and entered the room and was shot by Mobley in the kidney and abdomen but had called for reinforcements prior to entering the room and survived. The entire sixth floor of the hospital was sealed until the arrival of additional security forces accompanied by members of the anti-terrorism unit. He was chased through the hospital, and engaged in a shootout that ended with his capture after he had barricaded himself in one of the rooms in the hospital by anti-terrorism police whose smoke grenades ignited a small fire. The siege lasted for three hours before Mobley was captured after being severely wounded and "a number of other individuals" were shot by him. According to Albasha, the embassy spokesman, the guard who had been wounded in the shootout was in serious condition. According to the Arabic version of ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

'', Mobley allegedly killed two Yemeni guards during the shootout and critically wounded a third. ''CNN Arabic'' reported that this "was contributed by a Yemeni official in statement to ''CNN''". This, however, contradicts numerous English sources, including ''The New York Times'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

'', ''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

'', as well as the English version of ''CNN'', and ''News Yemen'', which all state that one guard was killed and another critically wounded. The same article in ''Arabic CNN'', in a detailed description of the shooting, also mentioned only one guard being killed.

Investigation

The U.S. government was previously aware of Mobley's extremist ties, but Yemeni officials claimed he had not been on their list of wanted militants. According to a senior official involved in the case, the attack demonstrates that Mobley "is highly trained in the use of firearms", and according to ''The New York Times'', the attack indicates that he had a "level of training and cunning characteristic of the terror network." The official also criticized the guards for their negligence in handling Mobley. He is likely to be tried in Yemen as opposed to being returned to the U.S., a U.S. official stated. According to Yemeni law, killing a guard could be punishable by

execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are u ...

. The

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

office of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

is working on the case. An unnamed U.S. law-enforcement official described the investigation:

The U.S. government is in the process of reviewing his past activities in the United States, including his employment as a contract laborer at several U.S. nuclear power plants between 2002 and 2008. At this time, we are not aware of any security-related concerns or incidents related to Mr. Mobley's employment at these locations; however we continue to review his past activities.

Mobley's parents were interviewed by the FBI. His mother denied the accusations against her son, describing him as "an excellent person who's never been in trouble" and "a good Muslim". His father, Charles Mobley, said he knew nothing of his son's current situation, adding, "I can tell you this: He's no terrorist." Sharif Mobley has not issued any public statement since the incident. Asked about Mobley's apparent links to al-Awlaki, a Yemeni embassy spokesman in Washington, D.C., said he was not surprised, because al-Awlaki: "is a fixture in jihad 101." Mobley remained in the custody of the Yemeni government on charges of capital murder until October 2010, and was charged with killing one guard and wounding another by a criminal court on October 27. Two U.S. government agents interrogated Mobley after his arrest. "Matt" from the FBI and "Khan" from the DOD conducted a number of interviews with Mobley while he was hospitalized and recovering from being shot during his arrest by Yemeni Security Agents. The un-redacted portions FBI report log shows the Mr. Mobley was concerned for the safety of his family and requested that the US Agents and US Embassy in Yemen assist his family in leaving the country. From the un-redacted portion of FBI report log of the January 31, 2010 hospital visit:

Mobley also repeatedly asked to use a phone and for a lawyer. During the course of the interview, Mobley repeatedly expressed concern for his wife.... Mobley repeatedly instructed edactedto tell his wife that he ordered her to leave the country with the children and return to the us .... Mobley initially requested that the USG visit his house; edacted...

Additional topics reported by Mobley's lawyers at Reprieve include "threats" made against his family if he did not cooperate with the interrogators.

While in secret detention he was interrogated by two US agents, threatened with further abuse (including rape, and the rape of his wife)...

The

Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture The Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program is a report compiled by the bipartisan United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) about the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s Detent ...

released December 9, 2014, contains passages that confirm that threats of rape and family harm were given during interrogations. Reports and analysis from the release report include: News reports from 2010 include statements of similar threats made to Mobley's family and his children.

"They held up the keys to his house in front of his face," Cori Crider is lawyersaid. "They told him his wife would go to prison and the kids would go to an orphanage. He was terrified that she was going to be assaulted."

Virginia lawyer and executive director of National Security Counselors, Kel McClanahan, filed a lawsuit on March 21, 2014 in U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C. demanding records under the Freedom of Information Act FOIA to help him determine whether the FBI tapped into his law firm's computers as part of an investigation into how he came to possess classified documents. McClanahan claims that the FBI targeted his law firm because of his assistance in the Mobley case on behalf of the British

Human Rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

organization Reprieve. His law firm had been retained to handle all FOIA litigation related to several cases, including Mobley. The FBI interest in McClanahan's law firm pertained to several sets of documents obtained with FOIA requests. Some of these documents had been released without proper redactions and he contacted the authorities to inform them of the errors. The documents are unrelated to Sharif Mobley. The document relating to Mobley was a copy of an FBI account of an April 7, 2010, interview that U.S. agents had conducted with Mobley in Yemen. The FBI had given the un-redacted version of the document to the Yemeni government, and this version was filed in the Yemeni courts on May 23, 2012. Mobley's Yemeni lawyers passed the document to the UK Reprieve legal team and the Reprieve legal team passed it to McClanahan as part of their court documentation package. Upon comparing the document officially filed with the Yemeni Courts and the redacted version obtained under the FOIA request, McClanahan alleged that the redactions were done to hide FBI misconduct and possible violations of the law, not because it revealed sensitive national security information. McClanahan contacted the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

regarding these alleged violations. He also met numerous times with the FBI to resolve issues over the documents. The FBI demanded he delete all documents, surrender his computers, allow review/access to his email and subject his premises to search without warrants. After several meetings with the FBI, they provided a new redacted version of the FBI Mobley Interview. McClanahan became concerned that the FBI was taping his email and interfering with his internet connection, after the agents had requested specific information about his

Internet Service Provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...

and details about his email account. Under the

Electronic Communications Privacy Act Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) was enacted by the United States Congress to extend restrictions on government wire taps of telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer ( ''et seq.''), added new pr ...

, the FBI does not require a court order to obtain emails from an Internet provider that are older than 180 days and McClanahan suspected that the FBI had issued an administrative subpoena for his emails. During a February 8, 2013 meeting a government prosecutor told McClanahan that neither he nor the National Security Counselors group were the target of any ongoing investigations but McClanahan remained unconvinced and filed his own FOIA request seeking information about the FBI Mobley Interview document and related investigations. As of March 25, 2014 all of these requests have been denied on the grounds that they would interfere with an ongoing investigation.

References

External links

Op-Ed: Al Qaeda’s Nuclear Plant, by Charles Faddis

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobley, Sharif 1984 births Living people American al-Qaeda members American Islamists Anwar al-Awlaki People from Atlantic County, New Jersey American people imprisoned on charges of terrorism American people of Somali descent

Biography

Yemen

Initial detention

Missed court dates

Continued detention

Allegations of unsanitary conditions

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Yemen

Shooting

Investigation

See also

References

External links