426:, was minimal at the time. Al Kassar renewed his motion three months later, arguing that conditions at the prison had deteriorated. The District Court denied the renewed motion, ruling that Al Kassar had established extraordinary and compelling reasons for compassionate release, but that 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors weighed against releasing him.
227:, Spain. There he bought a mansion, that he named "Palacio de Mifadil" ("Palace of My Virtue", in a combination of Spanish and Arabic), and quickly developed a reputation as a wealthy, ostentatious businessman. The European press soon began to call him "The Prince of Marbella". In 1985 he was the subject of a profile in the French magazine
375:
to the United States of
America for trial; he arrived in New York in shackles the following day. On 20 November 2008, he was convicted in federal court of five charges, among them money laundering and conspiring to sell arms to suppliers for FARC. Sentencing for al-Kassar and co-defendant Luis Felipe
421:
Monzer Al Kassar, pro se and incarcerated, appealed from the
District Court’s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for compassionate release. Al Kassar argued that he as at high risk of contracting severe illness from COVID-19 due to his chronic health conditions, which, he argued, was an
398:
article about the sting speculated that al-Kassar had been unusually lax in his behavior with the fake arms buyers, and that this may have been caused by financial desperation on al-Kassar's part, since, due to a decrease in world conflicts, the international arms trade was slower than it had been
324:
in 2001, there was renewed interest in the United States in apprehending those connected to terrorism, as well as new laws that gave greater power for "extraterritorial jurisdiction", or the ability of the U.S. government to investigate and arrest people suspected of committing crimes outside the
340:
In
February 2007, the DEA had Samir arrange a meeting between al-Kassar and two Guatemalan informants posing as FARC insurgents who wanted to purchase weapons to use against American military forces. The group met several more times, and at later meetings the informants were wearing hidden video
296:, whose parents were from the same town in Syria as those of al-Kassar, and who may have been a relative. (In 2000, he was indicted in Argentina for "obtaining documents under false pretences".) Also in 1992, the Spanish government arrested him for his alleged earlier involvement in the
168:
According to a 2009 report by the United States
Congress, Monzer al-Kassar supplied weapons and military equipment to armed groups engaged in violent conflicts in Nicaragua, Brazil, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Iran and Iraq. In 1970, al-Kassar had his first
300:
hijacking, along with "falsification of documents" and "possession of illegal weapons and vehicles". He spent more than a year in jail before being released on bail. The trial came in 1995, and he was found not guilty on all charges.
161:
According to U.S. authorities, Monzer's mentor in the drug and arms trade was his older brother, Ghassan, who had begun selling drugs in the late 1960s. Ghassan remained in the arms business until his death of natural causes in 2009.
647:
Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies Appropriations for 2010: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session · Part
201:, then bought arms with the profits and smuggled them back to Lebanon. In either 1974 or 1977 (sources conflict), al-Kassar was arrested and jailed in the UK for selling hashish. He served less than two years in jail.
874:
337:, referred to publicly only as "Samir", who was then being held in a U.S. prison. Samir spent much of 2006 trying to arrange a meeting with al-Kassar, and was finally able to in December 2006.
422:
extraordinary and compelling reason to release him. The
District Court denied his initial motion, finding that the risk of contracting COVID-19 at the prison where Al Kassar is detained,
352:, ostensibly in order to collect his payment for the sale, where he could be easily arrested by U.S. agents; but al-Kassar refused. They instead convinced him to board a flight to
329:
decided to put together a sting to trap al-Kassar, code-named "Operation Legacy" and led by Jim Soiles and the DEA's
Special Operations Division. They enlisted a 69-year-old
138:. On 20 November 2008, he was convicted in U.S. federal court as part of a U.S. government sting, for agreeing to sell arms to undercover agents posing as suppliers for the
255:
In 1987, investigations into the Iran-Contra scandal found that al-Kassar had been paid 1.5 million GBP by someone in the U.S. government to sell arms to
Nicaraguan
252:, to safety in one of his private airplanes. Al-Kassar has denied the charge. In 1995, a court in Madrid acquitted Al-Kassar of all charges related to the hijacking.
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in Madrid arrested him after he got off the plane. He was charged with conspiring to kill
Americans, supplying terrorists, obtaining anti-aircraft missiles and
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Since 2018, he has actively posted on
Facebook, maintaining that he is innocent of the charges against him, and accusing the DEA and the
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placed him at No. 26 on their "most wanted" list, calling him "one of the main sources of financial and logistics support" for the
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In 1981, he married Raghdaa Habbal, who was seventeen years old at the time, and who came from a well-connected Syrian family in
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884:
521:
650:. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies · 2009, page 122
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24 February 2009 al-Kassar was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiring to sell weapons to Colombian rebels.
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233:, which wrote, "in a few years, this Syrian merchant became one of the most powerful businessmen in the world."
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472:"Strange bedfellows in the arms trade: Polish intelligence, Monzer al-Kassar and the Iran-Contra affair"
288:, violating United Nations arms embargoes to all three countries. That same year, al-Kassar obtained an
158:. His father was a lawyer and diplomat who at various times was Syria's ambassador to Canada and India.
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662:"Gallery of International Arms Dealers: Monzer al Kassar: The Prince of Marbella: Arms To All Sides"
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142:(FARC), a Colombian guerrilla organization. He was sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment.
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passport, with the alleged plan to move there, with the assistance of then-president
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in London, where he took part in an operation that imported heroin and hashish from
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622:"The Trafficker – The Decades-Long Battle to Catch an International Arms Broker
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from the UK, al-Kassar moved, along with his wife and by then two children, to
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In 1984, al-Kassar was expelled from the UK for drug and arms trafficking.
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Meet the 'Prince of Marbella' – is he really supporting Iraq's insurgency?
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Since 2009, al-Kassar has been serving a sentence at a federal prison in
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779:"How to catch a 'Peacock': Inside the US take down of a global criminal"
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incident, were in court for the verdict. Al-Kassar was represented by
124:) (born in 1945), also known as the "Prince of Marbella", is a Syrian
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cameras, which recorded al-Kassar agreeing to the terms of the deal.
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835:"Spain Extradites Notorious Terrorist Arms Dealer to U.S. for Trial"
718:"Spain Extradites Notorious Terrorist Arms Dealer to U.S. for Trial"
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In 1992, al-Kassar made arms sales valued in the millions of USD to
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793:"MY REPLY AND CHALLENGES TO FAKE NEWS POSTED ON 'WIKIPEDIA' PAGE!"
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Moreno Godoy was scheduled for 18 February 2009. The relatives of
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cruise ship, and that afterwards he flew the hijackers' leader,
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Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
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348:, at the request of the DEA, then tried to lure al-Kassar to
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128:. He has been connected to numerous crimes, including the
741:"A major arms dealer in shackles, delivered to New York"
701:"Spain arrests arms dealer Al Kassar on U.S. charges"
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688:"Syrian Arms Dealer Acquitted In Achille Lauro Case"
553:"2 Arms Dealers Convicted of Plot to Aid Terrorists"
522:"Arms dealer caught in terror sting convicted in NY"
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193:. He then moved to the United Kingdom. He lived in
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165:Al-Kassar attended law school in the late 1960s.
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825:"The Prince of Marbella: Arms To All Sides"
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760:"Madoff Lawyer Absorbs Part of the Rage"
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356:for the same purpose. In June 2007, the
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890:People extradited to the United States
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140:Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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520:Larry Neumeister (20 November 2008).
905:People convicted of arms trafficking
758:Diana B. Henriques (11 March 2009).
551:Benjamin Weiser (20 November 2008).
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870:People from Rif Dimashq Governorate
811:, 20-2825-cr (2d Cir. 28 June 2021)
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777:Patterson, Thom (2 October 1017).
690:. Associated Press. 22 March 1995.
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476:Intelligence and National Security
154:and grew up in the nearby town of
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411:. He is due for release in 2033.
360:(Spanish National Police) at the
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583:US jails Syrian-born Arms Dealer
304:In July 2006, the government of
173:-recorded arrest, for theft, in
880:Syrian people imprisoned abroad
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371:On 13 June 2008, al-Kassar was
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399:during the late 20th century.
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488:10.1080/02684527.2022.2044592
470:Gasztold, Przemysław (2022).
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259:; according to an article in
885:People extradited from Spain
335:Black September Organization
325:United States. In 2006, the
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185:In 1972, he was arrested in
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739:Alan Feuer (14 June 2008).
39:1945 (age 78–79)
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837:FoxNews.com, 13 June 2008.
380:, the man murdered in the
358:Cuerpo Nacional de Policía
273:and his co-conspirators."
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807:United States v. Al Kassa
265:, the money came from "a
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215:"The Prince of Marbella"
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841:"Inside a Terror Trial"
795:. Facebook. 7 May 2019.
644:United States Congress.
16:Syrian-born arms dealer
150:Al-Kassar was born in
333:former member of the
103:30 years imprisonment
660:Matthew Brunwasser.
626:Patrick Radden Keefe
322:September 11 attacks
59:"Prince of Marbella"
136:Iran-Contra scandal
764:The New York Times
745:The New York Times
585:, 25 February 2009
558:The New York Times
267:Swiss bank account
238:Spanish government
134:hijacking and the
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331:Palestinian
230:Paris Match
146:Early years
126:arms dealer
122:منذر الكسار
67:Arms dealer
48:Nationality
42:Hama, Syria
30:منذر الكسار
854:Categories
579:Al Jazeera
430:References
424:USP Marion
396:New Yorker
386:Ira Sorkin
373:extradited
346:informants
320:After the
219:After his
187:Copenhagen
64:Occupation
831:May 2002.
666:Frontline
504:247349218
496:0268-4527
316:DEA sting
290:Argentine
250:Abu Abbas
242:hijackers
221:expulsion
177:, Italy.
80:Relatives
225:Marbella
171:Interpol
705:Reuters
350:Romania
286:Somalia
278:Croatia
257:Contras
244:of the
199:Lebanon
191:hashish
175:Trieste
100:Penalty
83:Ghassan
781:. CNN.
672:24 May
502:
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416:Mossad
354:Madrid
282:Bosnia
206:Beirut
118:Arabic
72:Spouse
51:Syrian
668:. PBS
500:S2CID
156:Nebek
844:City
674:2018
566:2008
533:2008
492:ISSN
344:The
306:Iraq
284:and
236:The
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36:Born
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