Essam Marzouk

A resident of British Columbia, Essam Hafez Mohammed Marzouk (also Essameddin Hafez [Halawi, Jailan. Al-Ahram, [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1999/432/eg15.htm Pre-emptive strike against Jihad] , June 2-9 1999] ) arrived in Canada in 1993 as a refugee fleeing persecution in Pakistan. [Global Terrorism Analysis: Terrorism Monitor, [http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369755 Volume 3, Issue 15] , July 28 2005] He has since been convicted as an alleged member of the Vanguards of Conquest, a pre-cursor to al-Jihad.National Post, [http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=f24a8db7-534a-4495-88cb-ec4731273d12 Bin Laden WMD chief once lived in B.C.] , November 26 2005]

Life

Born to a wealthy engineer in Cairo, Marzouk moved to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at the age of 19.

In 1986-87, he worked as an ambulance driver at the Red Crescent hospital in Peshawar where he met Canadian Ahmed Said Khadr.

From 1988-1993 he is alleged to have run an Afghan training camp for al-Jihad.

In Canada

Marzouk dressed himself as a Saudi sheik and flew to Vancouver from Damascus with a forged Saudi passport in 1993, with a connecting flight in Frankfurt. He was arrested in Canada when an immigration official became suspicious of his two forged Saudi passports, and his story of being an "Arab volunteer" in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Bell, Stewart. National Post, "Under Western Eyes", October 14 2005] Michelle Shephard, "Guantanamo's Child", 2008.]

Ali Mohamed travelled north from California with Abul-Dahab, who later told Egyptian interrogators he had withdrawn $3000 from a Californian bank account on orders of Osama bin Laden himself,Bell, Stewart. National Post, "Report says bin Laden paid bail in Canada"] to offer as bail money to lawyer Phil Rankin. The pair hoped to have Marzouk released and possibly smuggle him into the United States. [Lance, Peter. "Triple Cross", 2008] Mohamed was viewed suspiciously and subsequently detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) himself. However, after a brief phone call with U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent John Zent, Mohamed was identified as a CIA agent. [Oziewicz, Estanislao. Globe and Mail, "Canada freed top al-Qaeda operative", November 23 2001] Marzouk spent nearly a year in detention in Canada before his refugee status was confirmed and he was released, although Canadian authorities prevented him from being given permanent resident status due to their suspicions,Shephard, Michelle. Toronto Star, "Branded as Terrorist Threat, Men Languish in Toronto Jail", July 17 2004] and he was instead granted only refugee status in December 1994. He was once shown a TIME magazine article about the World Trade Centre bombing in 1993, and asked if he knew any of the people involved, in the presence of lawyer Phil Rankin.Bell, Stewart. National Post, "A model life, a model operative", October 14, 2005]

Marzouk was tentatively employed as a truck driver, and was living on social assistance with a net worth of approximately $20,000 and was being physically followed by Canadian intelligence agents. He made a number of phone calls to Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub's Toronto home. He married a Canadian woman, and together they bore a child.

In 1997, the FBI found Marzouk listed in an address book taken from Wadih El-Hage's Nairobi house. [Bell, Stewart. National Post, "US Embassy Bombers had Canadian Ties", March 19, 2002] In 1998 he was introduced to Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub at the house of Ahmed Khadr's in-laws in Toronto.

That year, Marzouk co-founded an import-export business named "4-U Enterprises" with his "best friend" in Canada, former Egyptian Amr Hamed who shared his love of sports.CBC, " [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2001/11/15/marzouk_011115.html B.C. refugee may have terrorist links] ", November 15 2001] and left the country. The two shared their faith openly, and would sometimes disappear into the forests of the coastal mountains for days at a time as a spiritual retreat to memorise the Quran.

In May 1998, Marzouk visited Ahmed Said Khadr, from the hospitals in Peshawar, at home, where he was introduced to Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub, a member of the Vanguards of Conquest.

Arrest and imprisonment

After five years, Marzouk left his Canadian wife and child in 1998, and flew to the Balkans.

In August, three weeks after the 1998 United States embassy bombings, a wiretapped phonecall tipped off the Israeli Mossad that a rendez-vous between Ihab Saqr and an Iranian MOIS official was planned in Baku, Azerbaijan. Without a bureau in Azerbaijan, they contacted the American CIA, who allowed a Canadian-raised Mossad agent to unofficially tag along as seven or eight CIA officers based in Frankfurt oversaw a local police raid on the Baku hotelroom.Bell, Stewart. National Post, "Mossad's Canuck gets his man", October 15, 2005]

When the Azeri police received confirmation that Saqr was in his hotelroom drinking coffee with others, they stormed the room grabbing all three people they found present and brought them still barefoot to the police station. It was now realised that the Iranian official hadn't yet shown up, and they had instead arrested Saqr, as well as Ahmad Salama Mabruk and Marzouk, who was wearing a "shabby business suit". [Ross, Michael and Jonathan Kay. "The Volunteer: The Incredible True Story of an Israeli Spy on the Trail of International Terrorists", 2007. pp 214-224] They were brought to the police station, where the Mossad agent says the police "beat the crap out of them".

Marzouk was extradited to Egypt, who initially denied they had him - during which time he alleges he was tortured. He was put before a military tribunal on March 16 1999, as part of the Returnees from Albania trial, with Montasser al-Zayat as his lawyer. He was sentenced to 15 years' hard labour for being an alleged member of al-Jihad.Burke, Jason. The Observer, " [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/nov/18/terrorism.afghanistan al-Qaeda's trail of terror] ", November 18, 2001] As of 2008, he is still believed to be incarcerated although there is no absolute proof.CSIS, Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub]

In November 2001, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated claims that an "al-Qaeda office" in Kabul had business cards reading "4-U Enterprises - Amr H. Hamed" and included an address for a rented postal box in a B.C. convenience store.Salopek, Paul. Chicago Tribune, "A chilling look into terror's lair", November 18 2001]

In their 2008 report concerning Mahmoud Jaballah, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) misidentified Amr Hamed and Marzouk as being the same person.Canadian Security Intelligence Service, [http://cas-ncr-nter03.cas-satj.gc.ca/rss/Jaballah.pdf Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Mahmoud Jaballah] , February 22, 2008. p. 33]

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