A US citizen has pleaded guilty to conspiring to send tactical equipment to Syria in violation of sanctions against Damascus, the US Justice Department announced in a press release on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) A US citizen has pleaded guilty to conspiring to send tactical equipment to Syria in violation of sanctions against Damascus, the US Justice Department announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Rasheed Al Jijakli, 57, a Syrian-born naturalized US citizen of Walnut, California, pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of conspiring to export US-origin tactical gear to Syria in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Syria Sanctions, the release said.
Jijakli admitted that from April 2012 through March 2013, he conspired with other persons to transfer tactical gear from the United States to Syria, the Justice Department said.
From June through July 2012, Jijakli and one of the co-conspirators (Co-conspirator 1) purchased the Tactical Gear. On July 17, 2012, Jijakli traveled from Los Angeles, California to Istanbul, Turkey with the Tactical Gear, with the intent that it would be provided to Syrian rebels training in Turkey and fighting in Syria, the release said. Jijakli provided some of the Tactical Gear, specifically the laser boresighters, to a second co-conspirator who Jijakli learned was a member of Ahrar Al-Sham. Jijakli also provided the goods to other armed Syrian insurgent groups in Syria and Turkey.
According to the Justice Department, Jijakli and his co-conspirators knowingly delivered at least 43 laser boresighters, 85 day rifle scopes, 30 night vision rifle scopes, tactical flashlights, a digital monocular, 5 radios, and 1 bulletproof vest to Syrian rebels.
Jijakli faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and his sentencing is scheduled for December 3.
