Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 01, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A5 winnipegfreepress. com CANADA / WORLD WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 A 5 Directions In a large bowl; combine cabbage, raisins, carrots and onions. DRESSING: In a small bowl, add yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard and dill weed. Blend well. Pour dressing over salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss and serve. Servings: 4 Metric Ingredients Imperial 750 ml cabbage, shredded 3 cup 125 ml raisins 1/ 2 cup 125 ml carrots, shredded 1/ 2 cup 50 ml green onions, sliced 1/ 4 cup - DRESSING - 75 ml plain yogurt 1/ 3 cup 15 ml mayonnaise 1 tbsp 5 ml dijon mustard 1 tsp 1 ml dill weed 1/ 4 tsp - salt & pepper to taste - CALIFORNIA COLESLAW W ASHINGTON - The suicide bomber who killed Bryan E. Hall died alongside him. But now, nearly six years after Hall was killed in Iraq, a Canadian citizen charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of American soldiers, including Hall, is at the centre of an unusual prosecution that's crossing several borders. " I was just so shocked that they were able to find this person," Betty M. Hall, Bryan's mother, said in a telephone interview. " It's amazing to me that they can do something like that." After an extradition battle that reached the Canadian Supreme Court, Faruq Khalil Muhammad Isa arrived in the United States and pleaded not guilty Jan. 24 in federal court in Brooklyn. In previous legal proceedings, he has challenged some evidence against him as being wrung out by torture. The former Edmonton, Alta., resident is being held without bond. From afar, Betty Hall and her husband, John, a retired IRS agent, have followed Isa's case since his initial arrest by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in January 2011. Still living in Elk Grove, about 25 kilometres south of Sacramento, Calif., the Halls learned about Isa's extradition shortly before the Justice Department alerted the media on Jan. 23. Underscoring the case's high profile, it was announced with a statement by U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder. It is being prosecuted by the office of the U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta E. Lynch, whose Senate confirmation hearing to replace Holder was this past Wednesday. " To those who orchestrate violence against our citizens and our soldiers... there is no corner of the globe from which they can hide from the long reach of the law," Lynch said in announcing the extradition. The case, prosecutors advised a judge in a letter made public Thursday, is also " extraordinarily complex," involving everything from " foreign wiretap intercepts" and " classified information" to " crime- scene evidence collected in Iraq." A 71- year- old retired manager, Betty Hall said she has some " mixed emotions" about the latest legal developments. Serving justice, she suggested, can also unearth painful memories. " I have put my son to rest," she said, " and we're moving forward." Bryan Hall, an Elk Grove, Calif., native, entered the army after his 1994 graduation from Elk Grove High School and a stint at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. On April 10, 2009, he was bringing up the rear in a five- vehicle convoy leaving Forward Operating Base Marez. A large dump truck roared past a checkpoint and detonated next to Hall's vehicle, leaving a 18- metre crater. Hall was 32 when he died. Four other soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were killed with him. Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods Jr. was a music- loving 24- yearold from Lebanon Junction, Ky., about 125 kilometres west of Lexington. Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis, was a married father of two. Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa, had graduated early from high school to enlist. Pfc. Bryce E. Gaultier was a 22- year- old medic and former water polo player from Cypress, Calif. Hall was married and had a daughter, Addison. His body was brought home and buried at Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Elk Grove. Addison, now seven, is living in northern California with Hall's widow, Rachel. The year before Bryan Hall graduated from high school, Isa moved to Canada from his native Iraq. He eventually became a dual citizen of both countries. In court documents, U. S. officials cited wiretaps and other sources to identify Isa as a member of a network that transported fighters from Tunisia to Iraq for suicide missions. The day after the 2009 bombing, the complaint alleges, Isa attributed the attack to " one of the Tunisian brothers." Isa also used code phrases such as " marriage to 70 virgins" when referring to suicide attacks, according to the complaint, which included transcripts from intercepted emails. " When I want to name the brothers, I say the farmers, because they plant metal and harvest metal and flesh," Isa wrote in a February 2010 email, according to the complaint. Following his 2011 arrest, Isa assented to a lengthy interview with investigators, which was videotaped. In fighting extradition, Isa alleged he was denied access to a lawyer and " U. S. investigative or enforcement personnel, or their Iraqi agents, inflicted torture" upon his brother and two other sources, the Court of Appeal of Alberta recounted in an August 2014 decision. The brother elaborated that he was " beaten by Iraqi and U. S. forces for about seven days" while being questioned. The Court of Appeal of Alberta concluded while the torture allegations could conceivably be credible, a " considerable body" of other evidence supported the U. S. case against Isa. In 2012, a lower- level Canadian judge had dismissed the torture allegations, declaring the United States has " a well- established and historic position as a leader in human rights and procedural justice." Still, Canadian officials secured a Justice Department commitment not to seek the death penalty against Isa as part of the extradition negotiations. Chase Scolnick, a federal public defender assigned to represent Isa, did not respond to a request for comment. If convicted, Isa faces a potential life sentence. Betty Hall says she is unlikely to attend the trial, explaining there are some things she is " putting to rest," but she may attend the sentencing if Isa is convicted. - McClatchy Terror case spans borders Canadian at centre of complex, unusual U. S. trial Bryan E. Hall Faruq Khalil Muhammad Isa CAROLYN KASTER / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Soldiers at Dover Air Force Base, Del., carry the remains of army Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Hall in April 2009. EL- ARISH, Egypt - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el- Sissi told his nation to prepare for a long fight to defeat Islamic extremists Saturday following a wave of attacks on security forces in the Sinai Peninsula. He made his televised address as military commanders announced plans to forge a unified command for all armed forces in Sinai. " We will not leave Sinai for the terrorists," el- Sissi said. Extremists targeting Egyptian military positions killed 31 security force members in a sophisticated and multi- pronged set of attacks Thursday night. An Islamic State- linked group in Egypt claimed responsibility, but el- Sissi laid the blame on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement he ousted from power in 2013. Later on Saturday, militants attacked army troops near the eastern city of Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip, wounding at least six soldiers, security officials said. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information otherwise, they said the militants fired rocketpropelled grenades at the troops. The Egyptian government has long said it is fighting a war on terror. But it has not been able to stem a daily stream of militant attacks despite more than a year of massive military operations in northern Sinai. Two children, aged six and six months, were killed Friday in an explosion the army blamed on the militants. A military official said the new " unified command" will mean joining the army units in North and South Sinai into a single force. He said this will involve setting up a new headquarters in El- Arish to administer military operations against terrorism. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. Thursday's assault was the second major deadly attack on Egyptian security forces in Sinai in the last six months. Thirty- one troops were killed in an attack last October. Attacks on Egyptian security forces dramatically escalated after the military - led by el- Sissi - ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013. - The Associated Press Long fight ahead: Egypt's leader By Ashraf Sweilam By Michael Doyle TOKYO - Japan condemned with outrage and horror on Sunday an online video that purported to show an Islamic State group militant beheading Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. The video posted on militant websites late Saturday Middle East time ended days of negotiations to save Goto, a 47- year- old journalist, and heightened fears for the life of a Jordanian fighter pilot also held hostage. " I feel indignation over this immoral and heinous act of terrorism," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters after convening an emergency cabinet meeting. " When I think of the grief of his family, I am left speechless," he said. " The government has been doing its utmost in responding to win his release, and we are filled with deep regret." Abe vowed Japan will not give in to terrorism and will continue to provide humanitarian aid to countries fighting the Islamic State extremists. The defence minister, Gen Nakatani, said a report from the foreign affairs chief of Japan's police agency deemed the video " highly likely to be authentic." The country was mourning a man who friends and family said braved hardship and peril to convey through his work the plight of refugees, children and other victims of war and poverty. " Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. Facing such a tragic death... I'm just speechless," Goto's mother Junko Ishido told reporters. " I was hoping Kenji might be able to come home," said Goto's brother, Junichi Goto. " I was hoping he would return and thank everyone for his rescue, but that's impossible, and I'm bitterly disappointed." Ishido earlier told NHK TV her son's death showed he was a kind, gentle man, trying to save another hostage. That hostage, Haruna Yukawa, was shown as purportedly killed in an earlier video. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took to Twitter to say the " thoughts & prayers" of Canadians are with Japan. " Canada condemns the reported execution of Kenji Goto," he tweeted, adding Canada will continue to work to defeat ( Islamic State). The White House released a statement in which U. S. President Barack Obama also condemned " the heinous murder" and praised Goto's reporting, saying he " courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world." The White House said while it isn't confirming the authenticity of the video itself, it has confirmed Goto has been slain. The militants linked the fates of Goto and the Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath Kaseasbeh, but Saturday's video did not mention the airman. Jordan's government spokesman, Mohammed al- Momani, declined comment. Earlier this week, Jordan offered to free an al- Qaida prisoner for the pilot, but said it never got proof he was still alive. Late Saturday night, relatives and supporters of the pilot held a candlelight vigil inside a family home in Karak, al- Kaseasbeh's hometown in southern Jordan. We " decided to hold this protest to remind the Jordanian government of the issue of the imprisoned pilot Muath al- Kaseasbeh," said the pilot's brother, Jawdat al- Kaseasbeh, holding a picture of Muath with a caption: " We are all Muath." Al- Kaseasbeh's uncle, Yassin Rawashda, said the family just wants to be kept informed. " We want to know how the negotiations are going... in a positive direction or not. And we want the family to be ( involved) in the course of negotiations," he said. Saturday's video bore the symbol of Islamic State's al- Furqan media arm. Though it could not be immediately independently verified by The Associated Press, it conformed to other beheading videos released by the extremists, who now control about a third of both Syria and neighbouring Iraq in a self- declared caliphate. - The Associated Press By Elaine Kurtenbach and Yuri Kageyama Video depicts IS beheading captive Hopes for Japanese journalist dashed ' I feel indignation over this immoral and heinous act of terrorism' - Shinzo Abe KYODO NEWS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Junko Ishido, Kenji Goto's mother. A_ 05_ Feb- 01- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A5 1/ 31/ 15 11: 23: 05 PM ;