Mike Hawash
Mike Hawash | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maher Mofeid Hawash December 12, 1964 |
| Status | Released in 2009 |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Arlington |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Criminal charge | Conspiring to aid the Taliban in fighting against U.S. allies in Afghanistan |
| Penalty | 7 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.
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.