Opinion ID: 2427524
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 2001: The Initial FBI Investigation into Co-Defendant Tarik Shah

Text: Defendant Rafiq Sabir is a New York licensed physician, trained at Columbia University, who specializes in emergency medicine. In 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating Sabir's longtime friend Tarik Shah for the possible transfer of money to insurgents in Afghanistan. As part of that investigation, an FBI confidential informant known as Saeed cultivated a relationship with Shah, in the course of which Shah was recorded speaking openly about his commitment to jihad (holy war) in order to establish Sharia (Islamic law) and about his wish to provide deadly and dangerous martial arts training to mujahideen ( jihad warriors). Gov't Exh. (GX) 802T at 1-2; GX 803T at 2-4; GX 804T at 3; Trial Tr. at 590-91, 601-03. [3] During these conversations, Shah repeatedly identified Sabir as his partner. GX 801T at 1; GX 807T at 3; see Trial Tr. at 903-04.