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66 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, July 7, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 4, 2004 Pete Seda Feds scrutinize Seda charity By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune The march toward cutting off the worldwide funding of terrorism is heading toward Ashland, where former resident Pete Seda and his Ashland-based Oregon chapter of an Islamic charity may soon be accused of helping bankroll al-Qaida. But friends of the longtime Ashland peace activist continue to support Seda, saying he never condoned violence and would never add a penny toward terror. The U.S. Department of the Treasury is "moving toward" designating the Seda-founded Oregon chapter of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation as a supporter of terrorism, said Juan Zarate, the department’s chief counter-terrorism official, during a news conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C. As part of a money-laundering and tax-evasion case, federal investigators have been poring over evidence seized in a February raid of Seda’s Ashland residence, from which the Al- Haramain’s official and only U.S. branch operated. The government on Wednesday designated the Oregon chapter’s former president, Aqeel Abdulaziz Al-Aqil, as a financier of the Al-Qaida network. Treasury Department officials called Al-Aqil the former leader of the Saudi-based charity. He was named president of the Oregon chapter in 1999. Advertisement Saudi Arabian officials said they have seized all the assets of Al-Haramain there. U.S. Treasury officials also designated five foreign Al-Haramain chapters — but not the Oregon chapter — as backers of terrorism. David Berger, an Ashland lawyer who talked by telephone Wednesday with Seda, said he expected the Treasury Department to designate the Oregon chapter as well in what he called "guilt by association." "It’s totally unwarranted, but there’s no end to it and he has no ability to defend himself," Berger said. "I think the Bush administration will designate Al-Haramain Oregon as a terror organization to say, ‘Hey, we’re fighting terrorism on the home front.’ They want to look good. That will do it. Then they’ll quietly dismiss it later." A law-enforcement official familiar with the investigation said he believes Seda has hoodwinked his supporters. "He’s absolutely up to his eyeballs in this," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "He knew exactly what he was doing. This is a front." A U.S. designation as a financier of terror would open the door for the government to ask for a similar designation by the United Nations. A U.N. designation would instantly freeze worldwide assets for the chapter and forbid anyone from doing business with it, Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said Thursday. "It literally streaks across the globe when the United Nations takes action," she said. The Oregon chapter’s U.S. assets, including those of Seda, were frozen in February during the federal investigation into whether Seda helped launder a $150,000 donation to Al-Haramain from a Muslim doctor in England. The Internal Revenue Service investigation also is looking at whether Seda helped a chapter co-founder smuggle $130,000 of the doctor’s money from Ashland into Saudi Arabia in March 2000. Seda has not been charged in connection with the case. An Iranian native who moved to Ashland in the 1970s, Seda went to the United Arab Emigrates on a humanitarian mission more than a year ago, and Berger said he remains overseas. For years, Seda has maintained that his Al-Haramain branch passed out copies of the Koran to prisoners and funneled aid to Muslim refugees in places like Chechnya. But a government affidavit unravels a series of events in which Seda helped turn $130,000 of the English doctor’s donation into 130 $1,000 traveler’s checks at an Ashland bank. The affidavit alleges that Soliman Al-Buthe, Al-Haramain’s Saudi lawyer, then carried the traveler’s checks from Ashland to Saudi Arabia and cashed them. The affidavit only spells out the money transfers, and includes reference to a note, signed by Seda, that states the money was to help Muslim refugees in Chechnya, a former republic of the Soviet Union. The affidavit does not accuse Seda of any knowledge about whether the money would go toward supporting terrorism, nor does it accuse him of any terror-related crimes. During the February search of Seda’s Ashland home, federal investigators also seized copies of a "radical" version of the Koran as well as pamphlets Seda’s group mailed to prisons trying to recruit inmates to Seda’s teachings, the law enforcement official said. Friends like Paul Copeland, co-chairman of the Southern Oregon Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the case against Seda a government "smear" of a community peace activist. "There’s absolutely no question Pete Seda’s intentions never have been to finance any kind of violent act," said Copeland, of Ashland. "This was not some cover he invented. It was something he was doing day in and day out." Copeland acknowledged it was possible that Al-Haramain leaders may have used Seda to funnel money to terrorists without Seda’s knowledge. "That’s the worst, I think, that could come of this," Copeland said. Berger called a duped-Seda theory "potentially quite valid." "Pete can be naive," said Berger, a longtime Seda friend. "He can be very trusting. It wouldn’t occur to him he was being used if he thought the end result was helping people." Treasury officials said Wednesday’s action brings to 374 the number of people or entities designated as terrorist supporters, leading to the freezing of at least $140 million in what the Bush administration calls "terror-related assets." Berger said he fears Seda would be arrested on a material-witness warrant if he returns to the United States. "He’s been so discouraged he may never come back," Berger said. "I don’t know. "I hope he comes back," he said. "But not yet." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times