Abderraouf Jdey | |
|---|---|
 A still photo from Jdey's video message. His,al-Juhani's andbin al-Shibh's videos were never released. | |
| Born | Abderraouf bin Habib bin Yousef Jdey (1965-05-30)30 May 1965 (age 60) Grombalia, Tunisia |
| Occupation | Terrorist |
Abderraouf bin Habib bin Yousef Jdey (Arabic:عبد الرؤوف جدي,Abd ar-Rawūf Jday) (also known asFarouk al-Tunisi andAl-Rauf Al-Jiddi) (born May 30, 1965) is aCanadian citizen,[1] who was found swearing to die as ashaheed (martyr) on a series of videotapes found in the rubble ofMohammed Atef's house in Afghanistan in 2002.[2][3][4][5]
The United States has issued three separate alerts that Jdey was about to attack inside the country, in January 2002, September 2003 and May 2004.[6]
Jdey moved toCanada, using a false passport and seekingasylum,[7][8] fromTunisia in 1991 and became aCanadian citizen in 1995.
He rented aCan$217 monthly apartment inRosemont–La Petite-Patrie (a borough ofMontreal),[7] and studiedbiology at theUniversité de Montréal.[9] In 1999, he wrote a pair of letters to unknownMuslims overseas, explaining how he found religion and speaking with contempt of the United States andUnited Nations.[10]
American authorities allege that he "may" have trained atMes Aynak alongside hijackersKhalid al-Mihdhar andNawaf al-Hazmi in Afghanistan, before being assigned to a second wave of attacks. A letter written bySaif al-Adel, and later found by American forces, suggested that Jdey may have originally been slated to have participated in the originalSeptember 11 attacks[9][11]
Jdey returned to Montreal in early 2001.Khalid Sheikh Mohamed, while beingharshly interrogated, said that Jdey then backed out of the plan.[12] According to a 2010 Harvard report on al Qaeda by a former CIA officer, Jdey was detained in summer 2001 together withZacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui was carrying textbooks on cropdusting; Jdey was carrying textbooks on biology. Jdey was evidently subsequently released.[13] In November 2001, he left Canada, several months after obtaining a replacement passport for one he'd received two years earlier which he claimed to have lost.[6] He was believed to be bound for Europe.[7][9]
Less than three months after the crash ofAmerican Airlines Flight 587 inQueens, New York, rumors were already suggesting that it had been destroyed by an unknown terrorist with ashoe bomb similar to the one found onRichard Reid.[14]
Four months later,Mohammed Mansour Jabarah agreed to cooperate with American authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence. A known colleague ofKhalid Sheikh Mohamed, he stated that Mohamed's lieutenant had told him that Reid and Jdey had both been enlisted by the al-Qaeda chief to carry out identical plots as part of a "second wave" of attacks against theUnited States.[15][16][17][18]
On January 14, 2002, a series of five videocassettes were recovered from the rubble of the destroyed home ofMohammad Atef outside ofKabul, Afghanistan. The tapes showed Jdey,Ramzi bin al-Shibh,Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan,Abd Al-Rahim, andKhalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani vowing to die as martyrs. It was the first time authorities had reason to suspect him of any wrongdoing.[19]NBC News said the videos had been recorded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Three days later, the FBI released to the public the firstFBI Seeking Information – Terrorism list in order to profile the five wanted terrorists about whom very little was known, but who were suspected of plotting additional terrorist attacks in martyrdom operations.[20][21] Already under fire for issuing "excessive and somewhat alarmist" warnings about terrorists plotting against the United States,Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft stated that Jdey andFaker Boussora were likely traveling together and should be considered "extremely dangerous".[22]
A month after Jdey and Boussora were declared fugitives, theRepublic of Turkey announced that the pair may be within their borders.[23]
Ramzi bin al-Shibh was interrogated at an Americanblack site in 2003 about his knowledge of Jdey, and confessed that Jdey had been recruited byal-Qaeda.[24] The following yearWalid bin 'Attash, similarly interrogated under harsh circumstances atThe Dark Prison, confirmed that Jdey had been known to him.[25]
In September 2003, the FBI issued an alert for four people they alleged "pose a threat to U.S. citizens", including Jdey,Adnan G. El Shukrijumah and the previously unknownZubayr al-Rimi andKarim el-Mejjati.[26]
On May 26, 2004,Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft andFBI DirectorRobert Mueller announced that reports indicated that Jdey was one of seven al-Qaeda members who were planning terrorist actions for the summer or fall of 2004. The other six named were Shukrijumah,Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani,Fazul Abdullah Mohammed,Amer El-Maati,Aafia Siddiqui andAdam Yahiye Gadahn.[27] AmericanDemocrats labeled the warning "suspicious" and said it was held solely to divert attention from President Bush's plummeting poll numbers and to push the failings of theInvasion of Iraq off the front page.[28] CSIS directorReid Morden voiced similar concerns, saying it seemed more like "election year" politics, than an actual threat, andThe New York Times pointed out that one day before the announcement, they had been told by theDepartment of Homeland Security that there were no current risks.[28]
The day after the announcement, there was a reported sighting of Jdey and Shukrijumah at aDenny's restaurant inColorado.[dead link][29] The following year, another tip suggested that the pair had been seen driving a car with aMassachusetts license plate inMaine.[dead link][29]
In April 2005, theU.S. State DepartmentRewards for Justice Program offered a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to the capture of Jdey.[30]