Mike Hawash

Mike Hawash
Born
Maher Mofeid Hawash

(1964-12-12) December 12, 1964 (age 59)
Nablus, West Bank, Palestine
StatusReleased in 2009
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Arlington
OccupationEngineer
Criminal chargeConspiring to aid the Taliban in fighting against U.S. allies in Afghanistan
Penalty7 years in prison
Date apprehended
March 20, 2003

Maher Mofeid "Mike" Hawash (born December 12, 1964) is an American engineer who was convicted and sentenced to a seven-year prison sentence in 2003 for conspiring to aid the Taliban in fighting against U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan. Six weeks after 9/11, Hawash secretly traveled to China with a group of Portland-area Muslims, dubbed the Portland Seven, with the intent of entering Afghanistan to aid the Taliban. Hawash and his fellow conspirators were unable to reach Afghanistan due to visa problems, according to federal authorities,[1]

Over a year later, after continuing to live and work near Portland, Hawash was arrested outside his office at Intel, setting off a heated debate about material witness arrest and detention and the Patriot Act, and galvanizing a movement to free Hawash. Hawash eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid the Taliban in exchange for a reduced, seven-year sentence. He was released from prison in early 2009.[2]

  1. ^ Hawash charged as part of Portland terror cell Archived 2003-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, KPTV, August 29, 2003
  2. ^ Killen, John (February 27, 2009). "Newspaper: Former Intel engineer who sympathized with Taliban nears release date". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 12 December 2016.