Saturday August 11, 2018
A refugee couple in Tucson were
arrested by authorities and are facing numerous charges of falsifying
immigration documents, including lying to federal officials about the
husband’s involvement with an African terrorist organization, officials
said Friday.
Mohamed
Abdirahman Osman, 28, is facing eight counts of supplying false
information on immigration documents, and his wife, Zeinab Abdirahman
Mohamed, 25, is facing three counts of providing false information in
support of Osman as they sought refugee status in 2013 while living in
China and permanent residency in 2015 while living in Tucson, according
to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court.
The
indictment states Osman gave false information about his name and
nationality, telling immigration authorities he was from Somalia, when
in fact he was from Ethiopia.
He
also denied being associated with a terrorist organization. The
indictment states Osman later admitted that he was recruited to join the
terrorist group al-Shabab and had moved from Jijiga to Mogadishu,
Somalia, at the direction of the terrorist group. He also later admitted
to knowing several members of the al-Shabab organization.
Prosecutors allege Osman also lied
to an immigration officer about being injured in a bomb blast in a
Somali market in 2010. The indictment said he was injured in 2009 while
handling explosives.
Al-Shabab
is an Islamic militant group operating primarily in Somalia and has ties
to al-Qaida. It is responsible for a string of terrorist attacks on
civilians, governments and military personnel in countries such as
Somalia, Kenya and elsewhere, and has been designated a foreign
terrorist organization by the United States.
The
husband and wife first applied for refugee status to the United States
while living in China. Their request was accepted and they have lived in
Tucson since, the news release said.
Authorities
arrested the two Friday. The investigation was handled by the FBI and
the Department of Homeland Security through the Joint Terrorism Task
Force.