Law & Order (1990) s17e04 Episode Script
Fear America
NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
MAN: Get up! Get up, you Arab pig! Come on! Let's go! Let's go! (WHIMPERING) Shut up! On your knees.
Get on your knees! This'll light up the world.
We're ready.
Let's go.
Lolli-gops, towel-heads, camel jockeys, you are not Americans.
You're parasites living off our citizens.
You cheer when our Gls die in Iraq.
Why do you live in our country if you hate our way of life? You thin k we're scared ofyourfihad? After today, be scared of us.
This is ourjihad.
God bless America.
(MUFFLED SCREAMING) ED: Victim had his wallet and his cell phone.
Hid name's Eric Khalaby.
He's 26.
He's from Bay Ridge.
I'm going to run him through NCIC and I'm going to give the phone to TARU.
They cut his head off? Yeah, just about.
An Arab, the banner, somebody was definitely trying to send a message.
"United Americans for One America.
" What is this place? An old fleet garage.
You can't see the entrance, so they obviously had privacy.
Security guard started his shift at 6:00, found the body as soon as he got here.
All these bloody footprints, they're smeared, so we're not gonna get a good impression.
Knife went through the carotid.
When? No rigor, three hours ago, tops.
Your victim struggled.
I got some hair samples.
Not his.
Oh, and he's wearing a wedding ring.
How do you tell this to the wife? You all right? Yeah, I'm fine.
Captain.
Franks, Public Information.
Van Buren.
This is really bad.
You have no idea.
Seen a TV yet? No.
NEWSCASTER ON W: to news organizations in the early hours this morning, a homegrown version of terrorist videos we've seen with increasing frequency.
The effect of this one, as you'll see, is the same.
It's to create fear.
Lolli-gops, towel-heads, camel jockeys, you are not Americans.
You're parasites living off our citizens.
You cheer when our Gls die in Iraq.
Why do you five in our country if you hate our way of fife? You think we're scared of yourjihad? After today, be scared of us.
This is our jihad.
God bless America.
NEWSCASTER: The rest of course is too graphic for us to air, but suffice it to say The world doesn't need to see this.
Especially in front of our flag.
NEWSCASTER: terrorists presumably Americans.
DIANE: We tried to feel safe.
Eric always said people were basically decent, they wouldn't take it out on us.
I think of how they had him, how scared he must've been, how alone.
(SIGHS) Mrs.
Khalaby, I know this is difficult for you, but we do have a few questions.
Yes, yes.
Okay.
Did Eric ever receive any threats? You know, just insults on the street.
My mosque has 600 members, Detective.
For a lot of them, threats are a simple fact of life.
This 10:00 call.
Did it come in your land line or his cell phone? I don't remember.
I woke up when he was getting dressed.
United Americans for One America.
Who are these people? Who do they think we are? We're Americans.
I was born here.
And they hate us.
It'll never get better.
As her imam, I want her and everyone in our mosque to befieve that you care about a dead Muslim.
Help me do that.
This community doesn't exactly trust the police.
Sir, we can imagine people thinking otherwise.
But we don't tolerate hate crimes, no matter who the victim is.
Nina Cassady, Ed Green, this is Henry Paulsen from the Joint Terrorism Task Force and Brian Griggs, FBI.
We're keeping them informed every step of the way.
Well, Mrs.
Khalaby said her husband received a call from his law firm around 10:00 p.
m.
, but TARU said it didn't come in on his cell phone.
And LUDs from the Khalaby apartment don't show a call after 9:00 p.
m.
Could the wife be involved? She was grieving.
I didn't read her as faking it.
And that's not our only problem.
Yeah.
The banner from the video, United Americans for One America? Detective Paulsen here says they haven't been active since the '90s.
As far as we know, there no longer is a United Americans for One America.
All right, this 10:00 p.
m.
call.
JTTF is at Khalaby's office, clearing it out.
Let's find out if he was really there last night.
HOFFMAN: No, he wasn't.
And the name on the door is Hoffman, Gold and Birnbaum.
If that makes you assume we had problems with a Muslim lawyer, you're wrong.
Other Muslims might have had a problem.
Did Eric actually say that? Day before yesterday a friend of his came in, a Ben something.
I was standing near Eric's door, they were arguing, to the point that Eric closed it.
Did you hear anything? Something about traditions and acting false.
Eric sounded pretty rattled.
I'll help any way I can.
Diane, Eric's wife, she said you were doing a really great job.
We appreciate that.
Listen, we heard that you went to Eric's office two days ago.
Yeah.
My day off, I stopped by to say hi.
We heard it was a little louder than hi.
It was nothing.
You know, it was personal, between friends.
Well, Mr.
Faoud, when one of the friends ends up with his head cut off, personal piques our curiosity.
There was talk, Eric being out late.
I asked him if he was having an affair.
Diane's my cousin.
I told him it had to stop or we'd have to go the imam.
Who's this woman he was seeing? He wouldn't tell me.
He got defensive, I never saw him like that before.
Someone you knew? I wouldn't know her.
Someone not from your community.
She wasn't Muslim.
Look, Eric's dead.
It won't help Diane to know he might've been cheating.
Excuse me.
I got to get to work.
So Khalaby steps outside the faith.
I want to put names to the numbers on the apartment LUDs.
Maybe he called this woman from home.
I want to check his e-mails from his home computer.
Let's get a search warrant.
Why are you doing this? What could you find in Eric's things? We're doing our best to find out who killed your husband.
You're not telling me the truth about everything.
Are you telling us everything, Mrs.
Khalaby? Do you have a warrant for this search? ED: Of course we do.
Could you stop for a second and think about the message you're sending? When you search the victim's house, that makes him look guilty.
That isn't our intention, sir.
You're not naive.
What does this say to every Muslim in the city? CASSADY: Ed.
Excuse me.
Back of the closet, buried under clothes.
Prepaid cell, untraceable.
The Qur'an.
Qur'an's not news.
This is a Muslim household.
But inside there's some folded papers.
Extremist literature.
Guys? 32 cookies, all sites in Arabic.
I checked the URLs against JTTF lists.
A lot of these are anti-American sites.
Anti-American websites, extremist literature.
We know where this is going.
Don't put him in a suicide vest just yet.
JTTF doesn't have Eric Khalaby on a single terrorist watchlist.
Well, neither were most of the guys from 9111.
Oh, so, you'rejust going to judge on color? You know what? Just forget I said anything.
All right.
And then I'll forget I'm black and I'll forget you're white.
What, I defend racial profiling, I'm a racist? You obviously have something to say, so just say it.
Okay, you get pulled over by a cop just because you're black, that's wrong and it sucks.
But if I'm alone at and three black teenagers are walking towards me, I'm going to cross the street.
Wait, hold on, I got a text.
The victim made five calls to other prepaids.
He called 911 the day he was killed.
Let's go to 1PP and listen to the switchboard tape.
And don't worry, my ears are color blind.
ERIC: It's happening in 36 hours, you got to stop them.
OFHCER: Please, calm down and tell me your name.
I'm a good American, I didn't mean to get involved.
Look, {can't talk right now, okay? Look, we need you tonight.
No, not today.
Tomorrow.
Okay, whatever you want.
10:00 in the morning, Union Square by the W Hotel.
I'll be In a blue suit, you can Okay, I gotta go.
Khalaby didn't give his name.
Not to the 911 operator and not to the detective it was routed to.
The detective made the meet.
No one showed.
He was already dead.
I was wrong.
This guy wasn't a terrorist.
He was an informant.
ED: Khalaby said that something was gonna happen in 36 hours.
That means tonight.
You have any ideas? Web chatter, but basically, no, nothing.
Most of these calls don't pan out, but this one, the second you heard his voice, you knew it was real.
Marie, as soon as Agent Griggs gets here, can you send him in, please? It takes four minutes to trace a trunk line call.
We didn't get it.
Khalaby's second-generation American, good job, good marriage.
How's he end up anywhere near a terrorist cell? Ordinary young men, here, Canada, Europe.
They see recruiting tapes from Pakistan, Saudi.
"Join us, your country commits war crimes.
" You're telling me a recruiting tape turns normal American kids into bomb-throwers.
I'm guessing Khalaby put one foot in the door, then realized he'd made a mistake.
So he talks to a detective.
The terrorists find out and they kill him for being an informant.
Using the white supremacist group as cover.
Sorry I'm late.
I'm running 117 actives.
Point of origin on Khalaby's call to 1PP.
Araway Security.
High-end security systems.
Araway's on the client list of Khalaby's law firm.
We called the firm.
They didn't send him out there.
Then why was he there? We have 16 hours.
Let's go.
We do work for the Port Authority.
Subways, bridges.
We manufacture and install cameras, build network interfaces.
City said we missed a couple, so they came to check the contracts.
What's this about? Wait a minute.
You said they came to check? Yeah, Eric and one of the associates.
You remember this lawyer's name? I wasn't paying attention.
I got video on the outside doors if you want to take a look.
We make cameras, they're everywhere.
ALDRIDGE: Here we go.
Front lobby.
CASSADY: Pause it.
Can you blow that up? Sure.
ED: That's our friend from the restaurant.
The one that had the argument with Eric.
Ben Faoud.
You have audio? Yeah, sure.
WOMAN: You're sure you have an appointment for today? Yes.
And where did you say you were from? We're from Hoffman Gold.
Let me call Mr.
Aldridge.
I don't see you here on the list.
Our appointment is for today.
Okay, stop it.
Can you get us a copy of that audio? Sure.
Not a problem.
We should try to match this audio to the voices on that beheading tape.
MAN 1: You cheer when our Gfs die in Iraq.
Why do you five in our country if you hate our way of fife? From the Araway Security lobby.
BEN: Our appointment is for today.
We get the word, "Our" in similar contexts.
MAN 1: Why do you five in our country if you hate our way of fife? BEN: Our appointment is for today.
Our appointment is Not even close to the frequency patterns.
It's not this guy.
Try the second guy.
MAN 2: You think we're scared of yourjihad? After today BEN: Our appointment is for today.
MAN 'l: Today BEN: Today Today is nearly identical.
If the context was better, they would be identical.
Good enough for probable cause.
The FBI staked out the restaurant.
Ben didn't show up for work and he's not at his apartment.
There's nothing personal here.
No family photos, travel souvenirs, nothing.
He travels light.
Look, found his passport and your boy gets around.
Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan.
I mean, these ain't your basic vacation spots.
Geraldo would be proud.
These were all under the floorboards, dozens of cell phone sim cards.
And schematics for a Stinger missile shoulder-launcher.
The schematics are real, not some how-to off the internet.
I don't know where he got them, he's not on any watchlist.
Look, I'm still at 1PP.
Could you call me on my cell phone? Anti-Crime, FBI, JTTF, we've got eyes all over the city.
He's bound to show up somewhere.
All right.
Homeland Security turned these up while tracking other people.
Ben, Chicago, lecture on the oppression of Arab peoples.
H eat h row, on his way to Damascus.
But basically he's NORA.
NORA.
Nothing On Record Against? Yeah.
If he's turned active, it's a cell of two or three at most.
We have five hours.
Araway has 20,000 cameras surveilling 2,000 sites.
Any of those places could be a target.
If he knows we're onto him, does he back down? PAULSEN: lwouldn't count on it.
Van Buren.
Where? How good's the ID? Thanks.
Anti-Crime sitting on the Crescent Sun Mosque in Maspeth just lD'd Ben Faoud going in.
Let's get a team out there.
They're locking the doors.
All the lights are out.
Anti-Crime says he went in and every set of eyes we have out there says he never came out.
Bring up the heat sensor.
Activate the thermal image and see what you got.
OFFICER: I got water pipes, radiator.
Nothing.
Wait.
[got 'em.
Two bodies.
Going down the stairs.
East comer.
I still can't believe we're storming a mosque.
If we were looking for any fugitive in any other place, we'd do the same thing.
We need the warrant to go inside.
Signed? Thanks.
We got the search warrant.
OFFICER 1: Hit it! OFFICER 2: Police! Search warrant! Hold your fire! BEN: Don't shoot.
I'm coming out! Freeze! Hands in the air! Don't shoot! Turn around! I'm not armed! All clear! Get down! Get down on the ground! Now! Get your face on the ground.
You're under arrest for the murder of Eric Khalaby.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.
Eric was my friend.
Why on God's earth would I hurt him? Because he warned the police about your plan to use Stinger missiles.
Your voice matches the one on the videotape.
You had the knife in your hand.
And this is only going to make the ID clearer.
What are you people talking about? Eric was murdered by white racists.
Do white racists distribute DVDs of beheadings to deter informants? backpack inside the mosque.
You put them on the street, the people get your message.
You're insane.
The DVDs belonged to Ray Al-Sini.
You people shot him dead at the mosque.
You saw him! He was a whack-job! He's nuts! Where are you hiding the Stingers, Ben? I swear, I don't know what you're talking about.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) TARU broke Mr.
Faoud's laptop encryption.
Snub drive in the computer itself.
Pier 12.
Port of New York.
Someone wanted to get on those docks without being seen.
That's what Khalaby knew.
That Faoud was trying to bring something through the ports.
Hold on, guys.
This steps on a bigger operation already in progress.
Griggs, what are you talking about? Three days ago, the merchant ship Sea Ange! docked from London.
We've had it staked out since it arrived into port.
Somebody was supposed to pick up a package.
What kind of package? I'll be moving Mr.
Faoud to the federal facility on Church Street.
He's already been booked by NYPD.
Unbook him.
I'll call Jack McCoy.
We asked the NYPD for custody of Mr.
Faoud.
We heard you advised against that.
No, I said it wasn't resolved.
We're taking jurisdiction.
A package came into Pier 12, we believe for Mr.
Faoud.
What makes you think it was for him? Two of his relatives helped ship the package.
We heard it was Stinger missiles.
The Attorney General gives you limited security clearance for today only.
It was two pounds of U-235 uranium.
Most likely shipped from an arms factoryjust outside of London.
Put a pound of that in a suitcase with a couple sticks of dynamite, explode the suitcase, youWlhave radioactive dust spread for miles.
Do it on a subway, the tunnels would be radioactive for 20 or 30 years.
British Intel got in early.
Replaced the uranium with a dummy drop.
So, if I understand correctly, you don't have a strong case.
If I'm wrong, Faoud's all yours.
Apparently I'm not, so let's be honest.
We treat him fairly or we turn him into a folk hero.
Jack, let's take a walk.
Well, you're not wrong.
Can Faoud lead you to other terrorists? On the record, anything's possible.
Off the record, it's a two-man cell, he's number two.
No one below them and they never let them meet anyone above.
He's a baby terrorist, Warren.
Behind bars, he doesn't get to grow up.
Tell this to the FBI, he goes away 25-to-life, that's enough leverage to find out anything he knows.
One problem.
You can't mention the uranium at trial.
Your security clearance was only good for today.
Uranium gives us motive.
This one the FBI wins.
You mention the uranium at trial, you violate the National Security Act of 1947.
Then I'll have to prosecute you.
I won't like it, but I'll do it.
"Docket number 0742193.
People v.
Benjamin Faoud.
"The charge is murder in the first degree.
" Your Honor, before we go further, we've all seen a videotape that actually tells us who murdered Eric Khalaby.
My client's here for one reason.
Muslims being singled out for persecution.
Nice speech, Mr.
Robinette.
Let's move on.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty.
Judge, you have before you a request for the imam of my client's mosque to speak.
By all means, Mr.
Robinette.
Your Honor, sir, I've known Mr.
Faoud many years as a good and decent man.
He is a respected member of our community.
He gives time to our mosque, to our religious instruction, andifyouWl release him to my custody, I can guarantee his return.
The court appreciates your obvious sincerity.
But you have no way to guarantee Mr.
Faoud's appearance and the law requires I do that.
So I'll have to ask you to take your seat.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING) My apologies.
Thank you.
Let's move on.
The People ask for remand.
The defendant's an obvious flight risk.
Because he travels a lot? Because he travels to places where people can disappear easily and where known terrorists have been trained.
So if I go to the cradle of civilization on vacation, that makes me a terrorist? Judge, the prosecutor has no evidence for the alleged motive for the crime.
We'll leave that to the trial judge.
The defendant is remanded.
And Mr.
Robinette? Be sure to call me the next time you go to Kabul on vacation.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Robinette went straight for motive even at the arraignment.
Well, Robinette used to work in this office.
You think that he can't spot the holes in a case? Your victim was an informant.
Ajury needs to know what he was informing on to know why he was killed.
We'll work around it.
We have to.
Terrorism's your motive.
That's what Khalaby was informing on.
This trial can't be about terrorism.
Too late.
To prove the man's a murderer, first you got to prove he's a terrorist.
The question is, if the FBI couldn't prove terrorism, how are you going to? His voice on the tape, the pictures of Pier 12, the beheading DVDs, the jury will figure it out.
Don't count on the DVDs.
Motion to suppress.
They're arguing the heat sensor violates the Fourth Amendment.
The Kyllo decision doesn't apply.
Well, Paul Robinette can argue that it does and he has a most forceful authority on his side.
The Supreme Court in the person of Mr.
Justice Antonio Scalia.
Scalia.
Who would've thunk? Nino on the side of defendants? The Kyllo decision was narrow.
What's narrow? "It would be foolish to contend that the degree of privacy "secured to citizens by the Fourth Amendment "has been entirely unaffected by the advance of technology.
" He said heat sensors violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable search.
It's like tapping a phone.
Wanna listen? Get a warrant.
And the cops at the Crescent Mosque didn't till after the heat sensor.
The heat sensor gave them probable cause to get the search warrant.
The opinion mentions the word, "Home" 67 times.
Jack, a search is a search.
A man's home is his castle.
That's the decision.
Nowhere are the words mosque, synagogue, or church.
Would the cops use a heat sensor at a church? No.
But Muslims have no rights.
It should all be thrown out including the arrest.
Mr.
Robinette, the cops could've waited all night to arrest him.
Inevitable result, he'd have come out eventually.
The DVDs are purely fruit of the search.
The arrest is in.
The DVDs are out.
Really? Well, when is she scheduled? Let me call you right back.
Diane Khalaby was just put on Ben Faoud's visitor's list.
She's on her way to Rikers with the Imam.
What does she want with her husband's killer? No, what does he want from her? Tell Rikers to get it on tape.
They say that's you holding the knife.
They say you killed Eric.
You believe them? Tapes can be altered.
The police will do anything to protect the real killers.
What's he getting out of this? They say you were making a bomb.
Diane, don't let them divide us.
What do I know about making bombs? That night he left I'm sorry for thinking you could do this.
Tell me she doesn't believe him.
Imam Ibrahim will tell you.
I couldn't have killed Eric.
I was with the Imam that night.
Tell her, Imam Ibrahim.
JACK: What's he waiting for? Yes, Diane, Ben was at the mosque.
He's a lousy liar.
You think he'll lie on the stand? You never bet against cultural ties.
(RINGING) It's Connie.
Absolutely.
We'll be right there.
Arthur wants us right away.
We sure didn't leak it.
That leaves you.
Ask the reporter.
He's not talking.
You're accusing my people, Warren, and I'm not too fond of your manners.
Now no one here spoke to that reporter.
If you think we would risk national security to win a murder trial You were in trouble with motive.
What was Khalaby going to reveal? Uranium.
Now it's out.
Qui bono? Who benefits? The Attorney General says you benefit.
You know, talk is like thunder, loud and harmless, so unless you've got a search warrant, I suggest you get the hell out of my office.
The FBl's out for blood and I hope to God, it's not yours.
Tell me I didn't just lie to him.
I wouldn't do this.
Absolutely not.
If we didn't leak this story, who did? MORALES: We have a 95% voice match.
Mr.
Faoud's voice is on the tape of the beheading.
the other five? That's our margin of error.
Easy for you to say, you're not on trial.
The tape was in the TV station for three hours.
Could the voice be changed? No, I think I'd be able to tell.
You think and 95% For a man sure of himself, your words indicate a lot of doubt.
No further questions.
JUDGE: We're in recess until tomorrow morning.
(GAVEL POUNDS) What? Diane Khalaby's not in court.
She's not on our witness list and she's not on theirs.
You'd think she'd want to be here.
I'd rather not be in the courtroom, that's all.
I need to move on with my life.
How can you move on from this? Mrs.
Khalaby? Mrs.
Khalaby, we're on your side.
Eric was going through a bad time.
A woman spit on him in the subway.
They searched him at the airport twice.
Then one night, I found him watching these terrorist recruiting tapes.
Did you ask about them? When he started disappearing at night.
It lasted a few weeks.
He said it was a moment of weakness.
He got caught up with the wrong people.
He said they were insane.
Suitcase bombs, blowing up bridges.
Your cousin Ben was one of them.
He never mentioned Ben's name.
Then he called from the office, it was a few days later, he said it was over, he said he'd called the police, he was going to meet them.
I was so afraid.
You didn't trust the police? They could send him to Guantanamo, they could kill him.
I called my cousin Ben.
I said Eric was mixed up with terrorists, he was going to meet the police.
Ben had to do something, he had to protect him.
He said he would.
Now I know where Eric went that night.
Not to the office, he was lying.
Don't you see? I told Ben everything.
If I hadn't called him, my husband would still be alive.
What makes you sure it was Ben who killed your husband? After Eric left that night, I called the Imam.
He told me to go to the mosque to pray.
I was there till 4:00 in the morning.
Ben was never there.
But he told the Imam to say he was.
We need to go over this carefully so you'll be prepared when you testify.
Testify? Don't be absurd.
You were at the mosque.
I've lost my husband, Ben, and now I've lost my imam.
He'll lie to protect these people.
Should I turn against my imam? All I have left is this community.
I can't give that up.
And your cousins who were arrested, do you know what they were smuggling? The newspaper said it was uranium.
What do you know about uranium? I'm a waiter, I work in a restaurant.
I don't know about uranium or bombs or anything.
Did you murder Eric Khalaby? He was my friend.
He was killed by people who hate Muslims.
That's the truth.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Mr.
Faoud, we heard testimony that your voice is on the tape of the beheading of Eric Khalaby.
How do you explain that? I can't argue with the people who are framing me.
Who would that be? The United States government.
It's not possible for the government to frame someone they hoped was guilty? You posed as a lawyer to get information on camera systems.
Was that part of a conspiracy? I'm into computers.
Eric said I'd learn something.
I couldn't get in unless I pretended to be a lawyer.
You went to look at camera security systems because you were curious about computers? Mr.
Faoud, do you expect us to believe that? It's the truth.
Why were photos of Pier 12 found on a computer in your apartment? It wasn't my computer, it belonged to Ray Al-Sini.
A friend from the mosque.
I had no idea he was a terrorist until the police shot him.
Did your good friend lift your floorboards and place schematics of a Stinger missile launcher under them? The government can plant anything anywhere.
Look, I grew up in Brooklyn.
I've never been arrested.
I've never broken the law.
I have friends who are Jews and Muslims and Catholics and everything else.
I work hard, I belong to a union, I pay my dues.
All of a sudden I'm killing people and making bombs? Are you telling this jury that the United States government and the New York City Police Department and the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the NYPD and the FBI all constructed a conspiracy to make you look guilty? Is that your defense? My own government doesn't trust my culture or my religion.
I don't buy it, Mr.
Faoud.
No further questions.
Re-direct.
Why do you feel the government is trying to frame you? They need us to be scared.
They need a face for terrorism.
Today it's me.
And tomorrow it could be anyone.
He's arguing government conspiracy? As if the jury would buy that.
Maybe they do.
Faoud knows what he's doing.
Two-thirds of the jury are minorities.
And they are more likely to believe in conspiracies? You forget, I'm a minority.
I know something you don't.
No matter where we are, we're always a little separate.
But nobody could believe that we framed Ben Faoud.
ARTHUR: I don't know.
Maybe she's right.
It only takes one to hang ajury.
And if you take a poll of blacks, how many would think twice before they believed a cop's testimony? Take a look at this.
The reporter who broke the uranium story.
I pulled all his past articles concerning Muslim-American relations.
This is from five years ago.
Look at the photo, who's standing in the back.
The Imam.
He had to have met the reporter.
How would he know anything about the uranium? Well, and if he knew, why leak a story that's going to hurt a man he's trying to save? Unless he never wanted to save him.
The Imam was pressured.
When we saw him at Rikers, he was being bullied.
I think he's known everything from the beginning.
He leaks the uranium to get Ben Faoud off his back.
Suppose it's true.
Where does it get us? Mr.
McCoy.
Why'd you leak the uranium story? "I want to put out the fires of Hell and burn down the rewards of Paradise.
"They block the way to God.
" A saying from the eighth century.
You wanted to see Ben Faoud convicted.
But you spoke for him at his arraignment and gave him an alibi.
And I will testify for Mr.
Faoud tomorrow as planned.
Consider what you're doing.
Do you know my connection to 9/11? My nephew died.
A security guard in the south tower.
The next week, pig's blood was thrown on the mosque.
We all lost that day.
American Muslims keep losing.
You can change that.
At what cost? You're a lawyer.
You understand how the world works.
You know my people don't trust the police.
And they won't trust me if I help the police.
You knew about the uranium.
I wouldn't want to go in this direction, but we can charge you as a co-conspirator.
You threaten me? These men come into my mosque and try to recruit my members.
My voice keeps you from having 100 Ben Faouds! The only one that matters is the one we can stop now.
So stand up, do the right thing, or I'll come after you.
You want me to give up my life's work.
This mosque will die.
What's a leader with no one to lead? Diane Khalaby lost all her faith because of you.
Is that what you want? A leak to the press is not enough.
All Muslims, all Americans, need to hear you say it publicly.
Which am I first? A Muslim or an American? You need to decide if there's a contradiction.
I was with Mr.
Faoud at my mosque the night of Eric Khalaby's murder.
And how long was Mr.
Faoud there? Several hours.
Exactly what hours were they? From From You mean, from 11:00 in the evening until 4:00 in the morning? No, he was not there then.
Sir, you signed an affidavit.
I signed out of fear.
Did you discuss your testimony with Mr.
McCoy? Were you threatened? I was threatened by Ben Faoud.
Please answer the question.
Did the District Attorney threaten you? I was told I could be charged as a co-conspirator.
He bullied you, didn't he? Another Muslim-American with a boot on his neck.
Withdrawn.
No further questions.
Imam Ibrahim, tell the jury what happened that night at your mosque.
It was just after 10:00 p.
m.
when Eric came to meet Ben.
They left 10 or Did they have a conversation? They were arguing.
I didn't hear everything.
I heard Objection, hearsay.
Admission, Your Honor.
Overruled.
The witness may continue.
Eric was arguing with Ben about uranium to be smuggled into the ports.
Ben said, "It's a blessing.
"Times Square and Wall Street will be uninhabitable for the next 50 years.
" And we see it again and again.
How many have to disappear, be tortured, held without hearing charges against them? How long before we say stop? When will we forgive all Muslims for the actions of the radicals who flew airplanes into the World Trade Center? L'lltellyou.
When we find someone new to hate.
To be a Muslim in this country today is to be seen as dangerous.
We're afraid of them.
And what do we do to people we're afraid of? In World War ll, background were arrested.
sent to internment camps.
Dark days.
Are we going to let them happen again? If you convict Ben Faoud, that's what you're doing.
You're convicting him because you're afraid of him.
They painted my client as a terrorist and a murderer.
What are they really saying? He's one of them.
They've put terrorism on trial here and Muslims on trial.
And if you let them get away with that, if that's how you judge Ben Faoud, you'll convict an innocent man.
Who's on trial today? Not the government.
Not America.
Not Muslims.
The defendant is on trial.
As a country, we have a history of treating immigrants and minorities badly.
"Houses for sale.
No Jews allowed.
" "Hiring today.
No Irish need apply.
" "Separate drinking fountains for blacks.
" "Get to the back of the bus.
" We should be ashamed.
And we should be ashamed when American-Muslims are treated differently because of their religion.
No one denies that it happens.
But that's not what's happening in this courtroom.
The defendant killed Eric Khalaby to save himself from being arrested for another crime.
But it's the murder of Eric Khalaby that he's on trial for.
Don't convict Mr.
Faoud as a terrorist.
Convict him for what he is.
A murderer.
That's the only charge.
And you must find him guilty.
On the sole count of murder in the first degree, how does the jury find? We find the defendant, Ben Faoud, guilty.
(PEOPLE EXCLAIMING) (GAVEL POUNDS) JUDGE: Order! Order! (PEOPLE CHATTERING) Traitor.
(SPEAKING ARABIC) (SPEAKING ARABIC) We proved a Muslim was a terrorist to convict him of murder.
No, we proved he was a man who committed a murder.
Is that how the jury saw it? You thought minorities might believe in a conspiracy.
They didn't.
They believed in the truth.
(PHONE RINGING) McCoy.
When? IMAM: We are a peaceful community.
Go home and join me later.
Go.
Mr.
McCoy.
You asked me to decide who I was first.
Muslim or an American.
It turns out I'm neither.
Last night, this was thrown through my bedroom window.
This morning someone did this.
I'm sorry.
What did Faoud say to you in the courtroom? Burn.
What did you say back? God bless the United States of America.
These are their stories.
MAN: Get up! Get up, you Arab pig! Come on! Let's go! Let's go! (WHIMPERING) Shut up! On your knees.
Get on your knees! This'll light up the world.
We're ready.
Let's go.
Lolli-gops, towel-heads, camel jockeys, you are not Americans.
You're parasites living off our citizens.
You cheer when our Gls die in Iraq.
Why do you live in our country if you hate our way of life? You thin k we're scared ofyourfihad? After today, be scared of us.
This is ourjihad.
God bless America.
(MUFFLED SCREAMING) ED: Victim had his wallet and his cell phone.
Hid name's Eric Khalaby.
He's 26.
He's from Bay Ridge.
I'm going to run him through NCIC and I'm going to give the phone to TARU.
They cut his head off? Yeah, just about.
An Arab, the banner, somebody was definitely trying to send a message.
"United Americans for One America.
" What is this place? An old fleet garage.
You can't see the entrance, so they obviously had privacy.
Security guard started his shift at 6:00, found the body as soon as he got here.
All these bloody footprints, they're smeared, so we're not gonna get a good impression.
Knife went through the carotid.
When? No rigor, three hours ago, tops.
Your victim struggled.
I got some hair samples.
Not his.
Oh, and he's wearing a wedding ring.
How do you tell this to the wife? You all right? Yeah, I'm fine.
Captain.
Franks, Public Information.
Van Buren.
This is really bad.
You have no idea.
Seen a TV yet? No.
NEWSCASTER ON W: to news organizations in the early hours this morning, a homegrown version of terrorist videos we've seen with increasing frequency.
The effect of this one, as you'll see, is the same.
It's to create fear.
Lolli-gops, towel-heads, camel jockeys, you are not Americans.
You're parasites living off our citizens.
You cheer when our Gls die in Iraq.
Why do you five in our country if you hate our way of fife? You think we're scared of yourjihad? After today, be scared of us.
This is our jihad.
God bless America.
NEWSCASTER: The rest of course is too graphic for us to air, but suffice it to say The world doesn't need to see this.
Especially in front of our flag.
NEWSCASTER: terrorists presumably Americans.
DIANE: We tried to feel safe.
Eric always said people were basically decent, they wouldn't take it out on us.
I think of how they had him, how scared he must've been, how alone.
(SIGHS) Mrs.
Khalaby, I know this is difficult for you, but we do have a few questions.
Yes, yes.
Okay.
Did Eric ever receive any threats? You know, just insults on the street.
My mosque has 600 members, Detective.
For a lot of them, threats are a simple fact of life.
This 10:00 call.
Did it come in your land line or his cell phone? I don't remember.
I woke up when he was getting dressed.
United Americans for One America.
Who are these people? Who do they think we are? We're Americans.
I was born here.
And they hate us.
It'll never get better.
As her imam, I want her and everyone in our mosque to befieve that you care about a dead Muslim.
Help me do that.
This community doesn't exactly trust the police.
Sir, we can imagine people thinking otherwise.
But we don't tolerate hate crimes, no matter who the victim is.
Nina Cassady, Ed Green, this is Henry Paulsen from the Joint Terrorism Task Force and Brian Griggs, FBI.
We're keeping them informed every step of the way.
Well, Mrs.
Khalaby said her husband received a call from his law firm around 10:00 p.
m.
, but TARU said it didn't come in on his cell phone.
And LUDs from the Khalaby apartment don't show a call after 9:00 p.
m.
Could the wife be involved? She was grieving.
I didn't read her as faking it.
And that's not our only problem.
Yeah.
The banner from the video, United Americans for One America? Detective Paulsen here says they haven't been active since the '90s.
As far as we know, there no longer is a United Americans for One America.
All right, this 10:00 p.
m.
call.
JTTF is at Khalaby's office, clearing it out.
Let's find out if he was really there last night.
HOFFMAN: No, he wasn't.
And the name on the door is Hoffman, Gold and Birnbaum.
If that makes you assume we had problems with a Muslim lawyer, you're wrong.
Other Muslims might have had a problem.
Did Eric actually say that? Day before yesterday a friend of his came in, a Ben something.
I was standing near Eric's door, they were arguing, to the point that Eric closed it.
Did you hear anything? Something about traditions and acting false.
Eric sounded pretty rattled.
I'll help any way I can.
Diane, Eric's wife, she said you were doing a really great job.
We appreciate that.
Listen, we heard that you went to Eric's office two days ago.
Yeah.
My day off, I stopped by to say hi.
We heard it was a little louder than hi.
It was nothing.
You know, it was personal, between friends.
Well, Mr.
Faoud, when one of the friends ends up with his head cut off, personal piques our curiosity.
There was talk, Eric being out late.
I asked him if he was having an affair.
Diane's my cousin.
I told him it had to stop or we'd have to go the imam.
Who's this woman he was seeing? He wouldn't tell me.
He got defensive, I never saw him like that before.
Someone you knew? I wouldn't know her.
Someone not from your community.
She wasn't Muslim.
Look, Eric's dead.
It won't help Diane to know he might've been cheating.
Excuse me.
I got to get to work.
So Khalaby steps outside the faith.
I want to put names to the numbers on the apartment LUDs.
Maybe he called this woman from home.
I want to check his e-mails from his home computer.
Let's get a search warrant.
Why are you doing this? What could you find in Eric's things? We're doing our best to find out who killed your husband.
You're not telling me the truth about everything.
Are you telling us everything, Mrs.
Khalaby? Do you have a warrant for this search? ED: Of course we do.
Could you stop for a second and think about the message you're sending? When you search the victim's house, that makes him look guilty.
That isn't our intention, sir.
You're not naive.
What does this say to every Muslim in the city? CASSADY: Ed.
Excuse me.
Back of the closet, buried under clothes.
Prepaid cell, untraceable.
The Qur'an.
Qur'an's not news.
This is a Muslim household.
But inside there's some folded papers.
Extremist literature.
Guys? 32 cookies, all sites in Arabic.
I checked the URLs against JTTF lists.
A lot of these are anti-American sites.
Anti-American websites, extremist literature.
We know where this is going.
Don't put him in a suicide vest just yet.
JTTF doesn't have Eric Khalaby on a single terrorist watchlist.
Well, neither were most of the guys from 9111.
Oh, so, you'rejust going to judge on color? You know what? Just forget I said anything.
All right.
And then I'll forget I'm black and I'll forget you're white.
What, I defend racial profiling, I'm a racist? You obviously have something to say, so just say it.
Okay, you get pulled over by a cop just because you're black, that's wrong and it sucks.
But if I'm alone at and three black teenagers are walking towards me, I'm going to cross the street.
Wait, hold on, I got a text.
The victim made five calls to other prepaids.
He called 911 the day he was killed.
Let's go to 1PP and listen to the switchboard tape.
And don't worry, my ears are color blind.
ERIC: It's happening in 36 hours, you got to stop them.
OFHCER: Please, calm down and tell me your name.
I'm a good American, I didn't mean to get involved.
Look, {can't talk right now, okay? Look, we need you tonight.
No, not today.
Tomorrow.
Okay, whatever you want.
10:00 in the morning, Union Square by the W Hotel.
I'll be In a blue suit, you can Okay, I gotta go.
Khalaby didn't give his name.
Not to the 911 operator and not to the detective it was routed to.
The detective made the meet.
No one showed.
He was already dead.
I was wrong.
This guy wasn't a terrorist.
He was an informant.
ED: Khalaby said that something was gonna happen in 36 hours.
That means tonight.
You have any ideas? Web chatter, but basically, no, nothing.
Most of these calls don't pan out, but this one, the second you heard his voice, you knew it was real.
Marie, as soon as Agent Griggs gets here, can you send him in, please? It takes four minutes to trace a trunk line call.
We didn't get it.
Khalaby's second-generation American, good job, good marriage.
How's he end up anywhere near a terrorist cell? Ordinary young men, here, Canada, Europe.
They see recruiting tapes from Pakistan, Saudi.
"Join us, your country commits war crimes.
" You're telling me a recruiting tape turns normal American kids into bomb-throwers.
I'm guessing Khalaby put one foot in the door, then realized he'd made a mistake.
So he talks to a detective.
The terrorists find out and they kill him for being an informant.
Using the white supremacist group as cover.
Sorry I'm late.
I'm running 117 actives.
Point of origin on Khalaby's call to 1PP.
Araway Security.
High-end security systems.
Araway's on the client list of Khalaby's law firm.
We called the firm.
They didn't send him out there.
Then why was he there? We have 16 hours.
Let's go.
We do work for the Port Authority.
Subways, bridges.
We manufacture and install cameras, build network interfaces.
City said we missed a couple, so they came to check the contracts.
What's this about? Wait a minute.
You said they came to check? Yeah, Eric and one of the associates.
You remember this lawyer's name? I wasn't paying attention.
I got video on the outside doors if you want to take a look.
We make cameras, they're everywhere.
ALDRIDGE: Here we go.
Front lobby.
CASSADY: Pause it.
Can you blow that up? Sure.
ED: That's our friend from the restaurant.
The one that had the argument with Eric.
Ben Faoud.
You have audio? Yeah, sure.
WOMAN: You're sure you have an appointment for today? Yes.
And where did you say you were from? We're from Hoffman Gold.
Let me call Mr.
Aldridge.
I don't see you here on the list.
Our appointment is for today.
Okay, stop it.
Can you get us a copy of that audio? Sure.
Not a problem.
We should try to match this audio to the voices on that beheading tape.
MAN 1: You cheer when our Gfs die in Iraq.
Why do you five in our country if you hate our way of fife? From the Araway Security lobby.
BEN: Our appointment is for today.
We get the word, "Our" in similar contexts.
MAN 1: Why do you five in our country if you hate our way of fife? BEN: Our appointment is for today.
Our appointment is Not even close to the frequency patterns.
It's not this guy.
Try the second guy.
MAN 2: You think we're scared of yourjihad? After today BEN: Our appointment is for today.
MAN 'l: Today BEN: Today Today is nearly identical.
If the context was better, they would be identical.
Good enough for probable cause.
The FBI staked out the restaurant.
Ben didn't show up for work and he's not at his apartment.
There's nothing personal here.
No family photos, travel souvenirs, nothing.
He travels light.
Look, found his passport and your boy gets around.
Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan.
I mean, these ain't your basic vacation spots.
Geraldo would be proud.
These were all under the floorboards, dozens of cell phone sim cards.
And schematics for a Stinger missile shoulder-launcher.
The schematics are real, not some how-to off the internet.
I don't know where he got them, he's not on any watchlist.
Look, I'm still at 1PP.
Could you call me on my cell phone? Anti-Crime, FBI, JTTF, we've got eyes all over the city.
He's bound to show up somewhere.
All right.
Homeland Security turned these up while tracking other people.
Ben, Chicago, lecture on the oppression of Arab peoples.
H eat h row, on his way to Damascus.
But basically he's NORA.
NORA.
Nothing On Record Against? Yeah.
If he's turned active, it's a cell of two or three at most.
We have five hours.
Araway has 20,000 cameras surveilling 2,000 sites.
Any of those places could be a target.
If he knows we're onto him, does he back down? PAULSEN: lwouldn't count on it.
Van Buren.
Where? How good's the ID? Thanks.
Anti-Crime sitting on the Crescent Sun Mosque in Maspeth just lD'd Ben Faoud going in.
Let's get a team out there.
They're locking the doors.
All the lights are out.
Anti-Crime says he went in and every set of eyes we have out there says he never came out.
Bring up the heat sensor.
Activate the thermal image and see what you got.
OFFICER: I got water pipes, radiator.
Nothing.
Wait.
[got 'em.
Two bodies.
Going down the stairs.
East comer.
I still can't believe we're storming a mosque.
If we were looking for any fugitive in any other place, we'd do the same thing.
We need the warrant to go inside.
Signed? Thanks.
We got the search warrant.
OFFICER 1: Hit it! OFFICER 2: Police! Search warrant! Hold your fire! BEN: Don't shoot.
I'm coming out! Freeze! Hands in the air! Don't shoot! Turn around! I'm not armed! All clear! Get down! Get down on the ground! Now! Get your face on the ground.
You're under arrest for the murder of Eric Khalaby.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.
Eric was my friend.
Why on God's earth would I hurt him? Because he warned the police about your plan to use Stinger missiles.
Your voice matches the one on the videotape.
You had the knife in your hand.
And this is only going to make the ID clearer.
What are you people talking about? Eric was murdered by white racists.
Do white racists distribute DVDs of beheadings to deter informants? backpack inside the mosque.
You put them on the street, the people get your message.
You're insane.
The DVDs belonged to Ray Al-Sini.
You people shot him dead at the mosque.
You saw him! He was a whack-job! He's nuts! Where are you hiding the Stingers, Ben? I swear, I don't know what you're talking about.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) TARU broke Mr.
Faoud's laptop encryption.
Snub drive in the computer itself.
Pier 12.
Port of New York.
Someone wanted to get on those docks without being seen.
That's what Khalaby knew.
That Faoud was trying to bring something through the ports.
Hold on, guys.
This steps on a bigger operation already in progress.
Griggs, what are you talking about? Three days ago, the merchant ship Sea Ange! docked from London.
We've had it staked out since it arrived into port.
Somebody was supposed to pick up a package.
What kind of package? I'll be moving Mr.
Faoud to the federal facility on Church Street.
He's already been booked by NYPD.
Unbook him.
I'll call Jack McCoy.
We asked the NYPD for custody of Mr.
Faoud.
We heard you advised against that.
No, I said it wasn't resolved.
We're taking jurisdiction.
A package came into Pier 12, we believe for Mr.
Faoud.
What makes you think it was for him? Two of his relatives helped ship the package.
We heard it was Stinger missiles.
The Attorney General gives you limited security clearance for today only.
It was two pounds of U-235 uranium.
Most likely shipped from an arms factoryjust outside of London.
Put a pound of that in a suitcase with a couple sticks of dynamite, explode the suitcase, youWlhave radioactive dust spread for miles.
Do it on a subway, the tunnels would be radioactive for 20 or 30 years.
British Intel got in early.
Replaced the uranium with a dummy drop.
So, if I understand correctly, you don't have a strong case.
If I'm wrong, Faoud's all yours.
Apparently I'm not, so let's be honest.
We treat him fairly or we turn him into a folk hero.
Jack, let's take a walk.
Well, you're not wrong.
Can Faoud lead you to other terrorists? On the record, anything's possible.
Off the record, it's a two-man cell, he's number two.
No one below them and they never let them meet anyone above.
He's a baby terrorist, Warren.
Behind bars, he doesn't get to grow up.
Tell this to the FBI, he goes away 25-to-life, that's enough leverage to find out anything he knows.
One problem.
You can't mention the uranium at trial.
Your security clearance was only good for today.
Uranium gives us motive.
This one the FBI wins.
You mention the uranium at trial, you violate the National Security Act of 1947.
Then I'll have to prosecute you.
I won't like it, but I'll do it.
"Docket number 0742193.
People v.
Benjamin Faoud.
"The charge is murder in the first degree.
" Your Honor, before we go further, we've all seen a videotape that actually tells us who murdered Eric Khalaby.
My client's here for one reason.
Muslims being singled out for persecution.
Nice speech, Mr.
Robinette.
Let's move on.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty.
Judge, you have before you a request for the imam of my client's mosque to speak.
By all means, Mr.
Robinette.
Your Honor, sir, I've known Mr.
Faoud many years as a good and decent man.
He is a respected member of our community.
He gives time to our mosque, to our religious instruction, andifyouWl release him to my custody, I can guarantee his return.
The court appreciates your obvious sincerity.
But you have no way to guarantee Mr.
Faoud's appearance and the law requires I do that.
So I'll have to ask you to take your seat.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING) My apologies.
Thank you.
Let's move on.
The People ask for remand.
The defendant's an obvious flight risk.
Because he travels a lot? Because he travels to places where people can disappear easily and where known terrorists have been trained.
So if I go to the cradle of civilization on vacation, that makes me a terrorist? Judge, the prosecutor has no evidence for the alleged motive for the crime.
We'll leave that to the trial judge.
The defendant is remanded.
And Mr.
Robinette? Be sure to call me the next time you go to Kabul on vacation.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Robinette went straight for motive even at the arraignment.
Well, Robinette used to work in this office.
You think that he can't spot the holes in a case? Your victim was an informant.
Ajury needs to know what he was informing on to know why he was killed.
We'll work around it.
We have to.
Terrorism's your motive.
That's what Khalaby was informing on.
This trial can't be about terrorism.
Too late.
To prove the man's a murderer, first you got to prove he's a terrorist.
The question is, if the FBI couldn't prove terrorism, how are you going to? His voice on the tape, the pictures of Pier 12, the beheading DVDs, the jury will figure it out.
Don't count on the DVDs.
Motion to suppress.
They're arguing the heat sensor violates the Fourth Amendment.
The Kyllo decision doesn't apply.
Well, Paul Robinette can argue that it does and he has a most forceful authority on his side.
The Supreme Court in the person of Mr.
Justice Antonio Scalia.
Scalia.
Who would've thunk? Nino on the side of defendants? The Kyllo decision was narrow.
What's narrow? "It would be foolish to contend that the degree of privacy "secured to citizens by the Fourth Amendment "has been entirely unaffected by the advance of technology.
" He said heat sensors violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable search.
It's like tapping a phone.
Wanna listen? Get a warrant.
And the cops at the Crescent Mosque didn't till after the heat sensor.
The heat sensor gave them probable cause to get the search warrant.
The opinion mentions the word, "Home" 67 times.
Jack, a search is a search.
A man's home is his castle.
That's the decision.
Nowhere are the words mosque, synagogue, or church.
Would the cops use a heat sensor at a church? No.
But Muslims have no rights.
It should all be thrown out including the arrest.
Mr.
Robinette, the cops could've waited all night to arrest him.
Inevitable result, he'd have come out eventually.
The DVDs are purely fruit of the search.
The arrest is in.
The DVDs are out.
Really? Well, when is she scheduled? Let me call you right back.
Diane Khalaby was just put on Ben Faoud's visitor's list.
She's on her way to Rikers with the Imam.
What does she want with her husband's killer? No, what does he want from her? Tell Rikers to get it on tape.
They say that's you holding the knife.
They say you killed Eric.
You believe them? Tapes can be altered.
The police will do anything to protect the real killers.
What's he getting out of this? They say you were making a bomb.
Diane, don't let them divide us.
What do I know about making bombs? That night he left I'm sorry for thinking you could do this.
Tell me she doesn't believe him.
Imam Ibrahim will tell you.
I couldn't have killed Eric.
I was with the Imam that night.
Tell her, Imam Ibrahim.
JACK: What's he waiting for? Yes, Diane, Ben was at the mosque.
He's a lousy liar.
You think he'll lie on the stand? You never bet against cultural ties.
(RINGING) It's Connie.
Absolutely.
We'll be right there.
Arthur wants us right away.
We sure didn't leak it.
That leaves you.
Ask the reporter.
He's not talking.
You're accusing my people, Warren, and I'm not too fond of your manners.
Now no one here spoke to that reporter.
If you think we would risk national security to win a murder trial You were in trouble with motive.
What was Khalaby going to reveal? Uranium.
Now it's out.
Qui bono? Who benefits? The Attorney General says you benefit.
You know, talk is like thunder, loud and harmless, so unless you've got a search warrant, I suggest you get the hell out of my office.
The FBl's out for blood and I hope to God, it's not yours.
Tell me I didn't just lie to him.
I wouldn't do this.
Absolutely not.
If we didn't leak this story, who did? MORALES: We have a 95% voice match.
Mr.
Faoud's voice is on the tape of the beheading.
the other five? That's our margin of error.
Easy for you to say, you're not on trial.
The tape was in the TV station for three hours.
Could the voice be changed? No, I think I'd be able to tell.
You think and 95% For a man sure of himself, your words indicate a lot of doubt.
No further questions.
JUDGE: We're in recess until tomorrow morning.
(GAVEL POUNDS) What? Diane Khalaby's not in court.
She's not on our witness list and she's not on theirs.
You'd think she'd want to be here.
I'd rather not be in the courtroom, that's all.
I need to move on with my life.
How can you move on from this? Mrs.
Khalaby? Mrs.
Khalaby, we're on your side.
Eric was going through a bad time.
A woman spit on him in the subway.
They searched him at the airport twice.
Then one night, I found him watching these terrorist recruiting tapes.
Did you ask about them? When he started disappearing at night.
It lasted a few weeks.
He said it was a moment of weakness.
He got caught up with the wrong people.
He said they were insane.
Suitcase bombs, blowing up bridges.
Your cousin Ben was one of them.
He never mentioned Ben's name.
Then he called from the office, it was a few days later, he said it was over, he said he'd called the police, he was going to meet them.
I was so afraid.
You didn't trust the police? They could send him to Guantanamo, they could kill him.
I called my cousin Ben.
I said Eric was mixed up with terrorists, he was going to meet the police.
Ben had to do something, he had to protect him.
He said he would.
Now I know where Eric went that night.
Not to the office, he was lying.
Don't you see? I told Ben everything.
If I hadn't called him, my husband would still be alive.
What makes you sure it was Ben who killed your husband? After Eric left that night, I called the Imam.
He told me to go to the mosque to pray.
I was there till 4:00 in the morning.
Ben was never there.
But he told the Imam to say he was.
We need to go over this carefully so you'll be prepared when you testify.
Testify? Don't be absurd.
You were at the mosque.
I've lost my husband, Ben, and now I've lost my imam.
He'll lie to protect these people.
Should I turn against my imam? All I have left is this community.
I can't give that up.
And your cousins who were arrested, do you know what they were smuggling? The newspaper said it was uranium.
What do you know about uranium? I'm a waiter, I work in a restaurant.
I don't know about uranium or bombs or anything.
Did you murder Eric Khalaby? He was my friend.
He was killed by people who hate Muslims.
That's the truth.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Mr.
Faoud, we heard testimony that your voice is on the tape of the beheading of Eric Khalaby.
How do you explain that? I can't argue with the people who are framing me.
Who would that be? The United States government.
It's not possible for the government to frame someone they hoped was guilty? You posed as a lawyer to get information on camera systems.
Was that part of a conspiracy? I'm into computers.
Eric said I'd learn something.
I couldn't get in unless I pretended to be a lawyer.
You went to look at camera security systems because you were curious about computers? Mr.
Faoud, do you expect us to believe that? It's the truth.
Why were photos of Pier 12 found on a computer in your apartment? It wasn't my computer, it belonged to Ray Al-Sini.
A friend from the mosque.
I had no idea he was a terrorist until the police shot him.
Did your good friend lift your floorboards and place schematics of a Stinger missile launcher under them? The government can plant anything anywhere.
Look, I grew up in Brooklyn.
I've never been arrested.
I've never broken the law.
I have friends who are Jews and Muslims and Catholics and everything else.
I work hard, I belong to a union, I pay my dues.
All of a sudden I'm killing people and making bombs? Are you telling this jury that the United States government and the New York City Police Department and the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the NYPD and the FBI all constructed a conspiracy to make you look guilty? Is that your defense? My own government doesn't trust my culture or my religion.
I don't buy it, Mr.
Faoud.
No further questions.
Re-direct.
Why do you feel the government is trying to frame you? They need us to be scared.
They need a face for terrorism.
Today it's me.
And tomorrow it could be anyone.
He's arguing government conspiracy? As if the jury would buy that.
Maybe they do.
Faoud knows what he's doing.
Two-thirds of the jury are minorities.
And they are more likely to believe in conspiracies? You forget, I'm a minority.
I know something you don't.
No matter where we are, we're always a little separate.
But nobody could believe that we framed Ben Faoud.
ARTHUR: I don't know.
Maybe she's right.
It only takes one to hang ajury.
And if you take a poll of blacks, how many would think twice before they believed a cop's testimony? Take a look at this.
The reporter who broke the uranium story.
I pulled all his past articles concerning Muslim-American relations.
This is from five years ago.
Look at the photo, who's standing in the back.
The Imam.
He had to have met the reporter.
How would he know anything about the uranium? Well, and if he knew, why leak a story that's going to hurt a man he's trying to save? Unless he never wanted to save him.
The Imam was pressured.
When we saw him at Rikers, he was being bullied.
I think he's known everything from the beginning.
He leaks the uranium to get Ben Faoud off his back.
Suppose it's true.
Where does it get us? Mr.
McCoy.
Why'd you leak the uranium story? "I want to put out the fires of Hell and burn down the rewards of Paradise.
"They block the way to God.
" A saying from the eighth century.
You wanted to see Ben Faoud convicted.
But you spoke for him at his arraignment and gave him an alibi.
And I will testify for Mr.
Faoud tomorrow as planned.
Consider what you're doing.
Do you know my connection to 9/11? My nephew died.
A security guard in the south tower.
The next week, pig's blood was thrown on the mosque.
We all lost that day.
American Muslims keep losing.
You can change that.
At what cost? You're a lawyer.
You understand how the world works.
You know my people don't trust the police.
And they won't trust me if I help the police.
You knew about the uranium.
I wouldn't want to go in this direction, but we can charge you as a co-conspirator.
You threaten me? These men come into my mosque and try to recruit my members.
My voice keeps you from having 100 Ben Faouds! The only one that matters is the one we can stop now.
So stand up, do the right thing, or I'll come after you.
You want me to give up my life's work.
This mosque will die.
What's a leader with no one to lead? Diane Khalaby lost all her faith because of you.
Is that what you want? A leak to the press is not enough.
All Muslims, all Americans, need to hear you say it publicly.
Which am I first? A Muslim or an American? You need to decide if there's a contradiction.
I was with Mr.
Faoud at my mosque the night of Eric Khalaby's murder.
And how long was Mr.
Faoud there? Several hours.
Exactly what hours were they? From From You mean, from 11:00 in the evening until 4:00 in the morning? No, he was not there then.
Sir, you signed an affidavit.
I signed out of fear.
Did you discuss your testimony with Mr.
McCoy? Were you threatened? I was threatened by Ben Faoud.
Please answer the question.
Did the District Attorney threaten you? I was told I could be charged as a co-conspirator.
He bullied you, didn't he? Another Muslim-American with a boot on his neck.
Withdrawn.
No further questions.
Imam Ibrahim, tell the jury what happened that night at your mosque.
It was just after 10:00 p.
m.
when Eric came to meet Ben.
They left 10 or Did they have a conversation? They were arguing.
I didn't hear everything.
I heard Objection, hearsay.
Admission, Your Honor.
Overruled.
The witness may continue.
Eric was arguing with Ben about uranium to be smuggled into the ports.
Ben said, "It's a blessing.
"Times Square and Wall Street will be uninhabitable for the next 50 years.
" And we see it again and again.
How many have to disappear, be tortured, held without hearing charges against them? How long before we say stop? When will we forgive all Muslims for the actions of the radicals who flew airplanes into the World Trade Center? L'lltellyou.
When we find someone new to hate.
To be a Muslim in this country today is to be seen as dangerous.
We're afraid of them.
And what do we do to people we're afraid of? In World War ll, background were arrested.
sent to internment camps.
Dark days.
Are we going to let them happen again? If you convict Ben Faoud, that's what you're doing.
You're convicting him because you're afraid of him.
They painted my client as a terrorist and a murderer.
What are they really saying? He's one of them.
They've put terrorism on trial here and Muslims on trial.
And if you let them get away with that, if that's how you judge Ben Faoud, you'll convict an innocent man.
Who's on trial today? Not the government.
Not America.
Not Muslims.
The defendant is on trial.
As a country, we have a history of treating immigrants and minorities badly.
"Houses for sale.
No Jews allowed.
" "Hiring today.
No Irish need apply.
" "Separate drinking fountains for blacks.
" "Get to the back of the bus.
" We should be ashamed.
And we should be ashamed when American-Muslims are treated differently because of their religion.
No one denies that it happens.
But that's not what's happening in this courtroom.
The defendant killed Eric Khalaby to save himself from being arrested for another crime.
But it's the murder of Eric Khalaby that he's on trial for.
Don't convict Mr.
Faoud as a terrorist.
Convict him for what he is.
A murderer.
That's the only charge.
And you must find him guilty.
On the sole count of murder in the first degree, how does the jury find? We find the defendant, Ben Faoud, guilty.
(PEOPLE EXCLAIMING) (GAVEL POUNDS) JUDGE: Order! Order! (PEOPLE CHATTERING) Traitor.
(SPEAKING ARABIC) (SPEAKING ARABIC) We proved a Muslim was a terrorist to convict him of murder.
No, we proved he was a man who committed a murder.
Is that how the jury saw it? You thought minorities might believe in a conspiracy.
They didn't.
They believed in the truth.
(PHONE RINGING) McCoy.
When? IMAM: We are a peaceful community.
Go home and join me later.
Go.
Mr.
McCoy.
You asked me to decide who I was first.
Muslim or an American.
It turns out I'm neither.
Last night, this was thrown through my bedroom window.
This morning someone did this.
I'm sorry.
What did Faoud say to you in the courtroom? Burn.
What did you say back? God bless the United States of America.