Judge Ties Saudi to Fatal Bombing of U.S. Facility

OTTAWA — A Canadian judge ruled Monday that there is conclusive evidence a Saudi dissident who sought refuge in Canada participated in the June terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, and she cleared the way for his swift deportation, perhaps to the United States.

Federal Judge Donna McGillis’ decision followed a brief hearing in which the accused, Hani Abdel Rahim Hussein Sayegh, 28, surprised the courtroom by declining to take the stand in his own defense.

McGillis said Sayegh’s “crucial” refusal to testify, combined with mostly secret evidence presented by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, led her to conclude, with “no hesitation whatsoever,” that the former grocery stock boy and Muslim religious activist is a member of a terrorist organization and was involved in the explosion at the Khobar Towers military housing complex in Dhahran last year. In addition to the U.S. service members killed, there were 384 people injured, including 109 Americans.

Canadian intelligence officials allege that Sayegh carried out surveillance on the target, was at the wheel of a car that gave the go-ahead signal to the driver of the truck bomb and assisted in the terrorists’ escape. They also say he is a member of an Iranian-linked terrorist organization, Saudi Hezbollah.

FBI agents investigating the attack have been eager to question Sayegh but have held off while his case was before the Canadian courts. He may be able to help answer a key question facing the Clinton administration about the bombing: Was it ordered or supported by the Iranian government? Proof of Tehran’s involvement could lead to a retaliatory military strike by the United States against Iran.

Tehran has denied any role in the attack.

The administration is still “working on” whether to formally request extradition of Sayegh, a senior White House official said Monday. Under Canadian law, countries with an interest in him would have an opportunity to make their case at his deportation hearing, Justice Department officials said in Washington.

FBI Director Louis J. Freeh said in a television interview Sunday that the Khobar Towers bombing remains “a case of immense priority” for the bureau.

Saudi security forces also want to interrogate Sayegh, who could be deported to Saudi Arabia because it is his country of origin.

Sayegh’s attorney, Douglas Baum, said the remaining procedures are pro forma and that there is little or no chance his client will remain in Canada for very long. Immigration officials indicated a formal deportation hearing is expected to be scheduled in a matter of days and that Immigration Minister Lucienne Robillard will ultimately determine Sayegh’s destination.

Monday’s federal court hearing was to determine whether the Canadian government was correct to use a rarely invoked provision of immigration law in identifying Sayegh as a deportable security risk to Canada. Judge McGillis affirmed that it was, and her ruling is not subject to appeal.

Sayegh’s refusal to testify Monday visibly exasperated McGillis and Baum. “It’s the most delicate, intricate, difficult issue that arises in any court hearing, and ultimately the decision is up to the defendant,” Baum said afterward. “He’s made his decision. Now he has to live with it.”

Baum denied that Sayegh’s decision to not take the stand was an admission of guilt and noted that the court proceeding Monday required a “much lower standard of proof” than would a criminal trial. “The issue of guilt or innocence will have to wait for another day,” he told reporters.

Gaetan Blais, a spokesman for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, declined to discuss details of the case but said the service was “satisfied by the court ruling today.”

Sayegh, bearded, bespectacled and assisted by a translator, waved and smiled at reporters as he left the courtroom but did not speak. He is being held at a detention center in the Ottawa area and was led in and out of the courthouse in chains, accompanied by three armed guards.

In several interviews since his arrest in March, including one with The Times, Sayegh has denied participating in the bombing but given contradictory accounts of his whereabouts on the night of the attack. A member of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite Muslim minority, Sayegh told The Times that he studied religion in Qom, Iran, a center for Shiite scholars, for four years and also lived in Syria. Saudi intelligence sources have told the U.S. that while in Syria, Sayegh served as a talent scout for Hezbollah, recruiting young Shiite zealots, some of whom were dispatched to Lebanon for guerrilla training.

According to documents filed in the case, Sayegh told Canadian immigration officials that he was a vigorous opponent of the Sunni Muslim-dominated Saudi government, which is closely allied with the United States.

In his application for admission to Canada as a political refugee, Sayegh said his brother and a cousin were tortured and imprisoned for anti-government activities in Saudi Arabia and that his own actions included organizing street demonstrations, teaching religion classes and pamphleteering. He said he fled the country out of fear that he would follow his relatives into prison.

His wife and two children remain in Saudi Arabia.

Aside from Sayegh’s own statements, Canadian security officials have kept secret most of the evidence they collected, as is permitted under Canadian law. Even Baum was denied access to most of the material. Sources in Washington and Canada indicate that it includes wiretaps of telephone calls Sayegh made to his family in Saudi Arabia, plus intelligence from Saudi Arabia and the FBI.

Canadian authorities also have been probing what they call a supportive infrastructure for Hezbollah in Canada. That support includes fund-raising, provision of safe houses, logistics assistance and aid in smuggling people in and out of the United States, Canadian anti-terrorist sources say.

Baum sought Monday to call as an expert witness John Sigler, a political science professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who specializes in Middle East studies. Baum said Sigler would have undermined assumptions about Islamist terrorism presented by Canadian intelligence officials in their court documents.

But McGillis refused to allow Sigler on the stand unless Sayegh also was prepared to testify.

With that, Baum was left without a case. McGillis adjourned to her chambers for 20 minutes and then returned to read her decision.

Times staff writers Robert L. Jackson and Robin Wright in Washington contributed to this report.