He then described the three main points that would characterize his defense. First, he said, the defense would wholeheartedly agree with the prosecution that the leadership council of the Knights of the Temple Mount was guilty of mass murder of both Jews and Muslims.
But second, Will stressed, Gilead Amahn was no follower—let alone a leader—of that secret religious cult. Even the Druze had condemned the violent breakaway subgroup—why should we believe, Will asked, that Gilead Amahn, an evangelical Christian, would, in such a short time, have been converted to the Knight’s violent ideology? Gilead’s mere presence at the scene, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the promised signs of His coming, was no proof that he was a conspirator.
Lastly, Will promised that the defense would launch a “fearless and ruthless pursuit of truth—revealing the dark forces that lurked behind the Knights and unmasking the true culprits behind the Temple Mount massacre.”
When Will concluded and turned back to the defense table, his eyes met those of Samir Zayed, who was smirking and shaking his head.
The tribunal took a two-minute break before the prosecution introduced its first witness. In the interim, Newhouse bent down next to Will at the end of the counsel table.
“When I was much younger,” he began, “and a great deal more foolish, I once promised my little daughter a certain birthday present. It was a much-sought-after doll—one of those dolls that was rather all the rage at the time, I’m afraid, advertised all over the telly. But by the time I got to the stores they were all sold out. So, at her birthday party I was a bit of a cad—couldn’t deliver what I promised.”
Will knew where he was going, and smiled. “One of the cardinal rules of trial law, I know,” he replied. “Never make promises you can’t keep. So…you’re wondering about my ‘unmasking the true culprits’ statement…”
“Yes. Have to say I was. Hope you can do it, of course. That would be rather a brilliant turnabout, wouldn’t it?”
“I know you don’t have the benefit of all the evidence I’ve turned up,” Will said in a hushed voice. “Some of it you haven’t yet seen for lack of time. And some of it…well, honestly…I’ve kept from you for your own benefit. I don’t know how else to say it, Nigel. If my defense blows up—and it could—there could be some dangerous repercussions. I’ll be the target here—no reason for you to catch the shrapnel.”
Nigel’s eyes widened only slightly, and his mouth turned up at the sides. He paused for a moment, then rose slowly, patted Will on the shoulder and returned to his seat.
Then the three judges appeared, all in the room rose to their feet, and the prosecution called its first witness.
Dr. Azur el Umal entered the witness enclosure, took the oath, and sat down. He was a middle-aged man, with black hair combed up in a kind of pompadour look and a prominent nose that was slightly crooked, as if it had once been broken but not set properly.
El Umal was a PhD in chemical engineering with a specialty in explosives. He had, he explained, received training over the years in the development of explosive devices—with Interpol and Scotland Yard. He was presently employed, as he had been for many years, in the Preventative Security Organization and the General Intelligence Service of the Palestinian Authority.
“My job is to give expert opinions on the types of explosive devices used by various persons and groups, both legal and illicit, including violent organizations and those using terrorist tactics, after an attack or counterattack takes place.”
“You said ‘counterattack,’ ” the prosecutor noted. “What do you mean?”
“Sometimes Palestinian freedom fighters must…and occasionally do…use explosive devices in response to insurgent, excessive invasions by the Israeli forces. And there are accusations made, and an inquiry must be conducted relating to the nature of the counterattack, that kind of thing…”
El Umal went on to explain that he had been asked by the Palestinian Authority to conduct an analysis of the ballistics and properties of the explosives used to “decimate the Noble Sanctuary mosque structures and the Dome of the Rock, the place Muslims hold dear because it was the site of the ascension of the great prophet Muhammad.”
He painstakingly described his initial view of the site less than one hour after the explosions—the emergency personnel scrambling to the scene, the wreckage, the screams of survivors and the dying who lay under the collapsed stones…and the body parts strewn over the plateau of the Temple Mount.
“It was horrific—more gruesome, more awful than words can describe,” el Umal said softly. All of the judges seemed to be visibly moved by his description of the carnage.
He then explained how, over the course of the next two months, he had collected chemical samples from each of the two sites of the original blasts. He was able to determine, with a high degree of scientific certainty, the nature of the explosives used.
“The blasts were accomplished through the detonation of several hundred pounds of Composition-4, commonly known as C-4, explosives. They are often used by terror groups of all kinds.”
“What advantage did the Knights of the Temple Mount gain by using this kind of explosives?” Zayed asked.
“First, they are the most energetic of all agents, outside of nuclear materials. Second, they are safe to handle. Until properly detonated with a blasting-cap-type device, you can set a C-4 on fire, even shoot a bullet into it, and it will still not explode.”
“So,” the prosecutor noted, “C-4 can be placed in a subfloor, as it was in the al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome, left there for days or weeks, and protected until just the right moment—such as when hundreds of innocent Muslims are kneeling and peacefully praying—and then it can be exploded remotely as a tool of deadly surprise and utter genocide?”
Will rose to object to the argumentative and leading question.
Judge Mustafa shifted his head from side to side.
“Objection noted. But overruled. Continue, Mr. Prosecutor.”
Zayed asked how the explosives had been detonated.
“Remotely—by the use of portable computers in two vehicles, each sending a wireless signal to a triggering device at the site of each of the payloads of C-4.”
El Umal then identified the photographs of the two vehicles that had been captured and impounded after the blasts, noting that the computers and keyboards in the VW van and panel truck operated by Louis Lorraine and Yossin Ali Khalid had also been taken into evidence and analyzed.
“Those two vehicles were less than one-quarter mile,” the prosecutor asked, “from where the prosecution’s diagram, admitted into evidence by stipulation of both parties, places the presence of Hassan Gilead Amahn, who was preaching at the time, calling loudly for the destruction of the Temple Mount?”
“Yes. The vehicles that contained the computer detonation devices were within a quick walk from where Amahn was preaching.”
“So, when the accused had given the command by referring to the obliteration of the Mount, then Mr. Lorraine and Mr. Khalid had time to run to their vehicles, detonate that massive store of C-4, and commit mass murder?”
Will again objected, this time to the reference to his client’s “command,” but again he was overruled.
El Umal answered, ending his direct examination concisely and dramatically.
“The plan was very effective—they obviously were able to run to their vehicles after Amahn’s command and then key in the code for the detonation and send all of those praying Muslims to their death, all in a matter of minutes.”
Zayed sat down, and Will wasted no time.
He asked el Umal about the benefits of C-4 explosives—“One of them being that they are not as easily accidentally detonated as, say, dynamite or nitroglycerin.”
The prosecution expert agreed, then chuckled a bit, and explained that he had, as a young man, tried an experiment with nitroglycerin. “It succeeded. Unfortunately, I almost didn’t. It sent me flying—I broke my nose in the fall.”
B
elgian Judge Verdexler smiled broadly and also chuckled.
“So, C-4 would be a good choice for a religious group bent on destroying the Temple Mount—but a group with no real prior experience handling explosives?”
El Umal was still thinking when Will clarified his question in a rapid-fire sequence of follow-up.
“In other words, C-4 can be effective in the hands of novices?”
“In a manner of speaking. Yes. But novices can rarely obtain it—”
“Which is why hardened terrorist groups often use it—but others can’t often get hold of it?”
“Governments highly restrict the transfer and sale of it, yes…”
“True or false—terror groups can often be recognized by the ‘explosives signature’ or the ‘technical fingerprint’ of the type of explosion?”
“Sometimes. Not always.”
“For instance, Hamas is known to use tri-acetone combinations in its bombs?”
“Sometimes…”
“Terrorists from Gaza often use nitric-acid components?”
“I’ve seen that, yes. But it has nothing to do with this case—”
“And the IRA—they were known to use Semtex, a variant of C-4, coupled with a detonation device using a Japanese-made miniature receiver?”
“Oh yes, I’ve seen that in my training with the Europeans.”
“But the Knights of the Temple Mount—they had no prior history with explosives?”
“That we know of…that is true.”
“And the explosive system used in this case—a huge amount of very refined C-4, coupled with a wireless-computer detonation method—have you ever seen that before?”
El Umal paused to reflect.
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Is it possible, then,” Will continued, “that the reason for that is exactly this—that we have, behind this bombing, the first-time appearance of a new entity—an entirely new kind of terror mastermind at work?”
The prosecution’s expert could see where Will was going, and he sat up straight in the booth, then shifted a little before answering.
“Just because the engineering system appeared to be unique doesn’t exclude the possibility that a prior, experienced terror group had refined its older techniques,” but then he quickly added, “but as you say, the Knights of the Temple Mount and Mr. Amahn could be properly described as a new terror group using this new system.”
Will decided to let the last comment go, at least for now.
“Now the exact form of C-4 used for the attack in this case—do you agree it was actually Semtex?”
“Well, yes. True. But not significant—”
“And of course no one is alleging, are they, that the Irish Republican Army was in any way involved in supplying those explosives?”
El Umal smiled. “Of course not.”
“So where did the Knights get it?”
“What?”
“The Semtex.”
“I have no idea.”
“Was either Louis Lorraine, or Yossin Ali Khalid, or Scott Magnit for that matter—were any of them chemists? Or engineers? Or trained in any way with explosives?”
“Not that we know of—”
“So it’s not only possible, but probable, that someone else provided both the explosives and the computerized detonation system to them?”
“These terror groups all have a custom of working together…networking…”
“So your answer is yes?”
“My answer is that someone in their terror network, whatever that was, did provide the explosives and the very sophisticated detonation system to the Knights.”
“You did say ‘sophisticated’?”
“Yes.”
“Is it your opinion, Dr. Umal, that the more sophisticated the explosives and the detonation system, the more likely we are looking at the possibility of a state-sponsored terror attack?”
The witness shook his head violently at that.
“I see no such evidence—certainly, of any Arab League nation involved in this…if that is what you are insinuating…that would be preposterous. Of course, some have speculated that Israel might be behind the bombings…but we just don’t know—”
“Of course—but didn’t you make that exact point at the forensics conference in Paris last year—that extreme technical sophistication in explosives could mean state-sponsored terrorism?”
“I said it could be evidence of state-sponsored terrorism—one possibility. If you read my speech, which I presume you did, then you also noted that I mentioned other explanations.”
“Yes, I did,” Will replied. “And I did note another explanation. I will now read it—and tell me if you said this—‘Overwhelming quantities of C-4 explosives coupled with technically advanced detonation systems can also point to terror-planning entities, or persons, with powerful international connections and substantial financing capacity, or both.’ ”
“Those sound like my comments.”
The chemical engineer began to rise, but Will motioned for him to be seated.
“Just one more question. If you don’t mind. After you disassembled the hard drives of the computers used as detonation devices—tell the tribunal—did you become sick?”
El Umal narrowed his eyes, studying Will. He finally gave his answer.
“I had the flu, I suppose. It must have been going around.”
Then the prosecution’s expert smiled, assured in his own mind that both the question—and the answer—were meaningless.
And Will Chambers smiled back.
But for a much different reason.
56
AS HE CLIMBED INTO THE WITNESS BOOTH, Pastor Ralph Wyman of the Rolling River Bible Tabernacle looked uncommonly uncomfortable.
For the senior pastor of the small church that was tucked deep within the mountains of West Virginia—and as the former ministry superior to Gilead Amahn during the time he had served as the assistant pastor—making difficult decisions about his former subordinate’s conduct was one thing. But being forced to testify against Gilead—to be called as a witness for the prosecution in an international terrorism trial—was quite another.
The Palestinian public prosecutor had subpoenaed Pastor Wyman to attend the trial. Wyman had consulted a lawyer, who wondered if the Palestinian Authority even had jurisdiction to require the pastor’s appearance in Jerusalem. The matter might have ended there, except that the Landow administration decided to use the full measure of the power of the U.S. Department of Justice to transport Pastor Wyman to the trial before the Palestinian International Tribunal.
That single fact had represented the strongest sign yet that the U.S. government was weighing in on one particular side of the prosecution of Gilead Amahn. And it certainly wasn’t on the defense side.
The pastor tugged a little at his necktie as he related the “troubling” things he had begun to notice about Gilead Amahn’s “spiritual progress…and his ministry leadership.”
“What kind of troubling things? How was your heart troubled by the accused?” Samir Zayed asked, with a well-varnished veneer of sympathy.
“Things he said.”
“Things like ‘God has called me for a prophetic calling’?”
“Not so much that…” the pastor replied.
“When he said he was going into the West Virginia wilderness for forty days and forty nights—that troubled you?”
“Well, we’re a small church…I needed his help. He was actually sort of taking a leave of absence without prior notice to me…or to the board of elders for that matter.”
“He was thirty years old at that time?”
“Yes. We actually had a little birthday party for him.”
“How old does the Bible say Jesus was when He began His preaching?”
Pastor Wyman sighed.
“Thirty.”
“And it was at the birthday party that Mr. Amahn announced he felt that God was calling him to ‘have a wilderness experience.’ Those we
re his words?”
“Yes,” Pastor Wyman replied. “That is what he said. Don’t know exactly what his meaning was.”
“Did he explain in some fashion?”
“Well, not fully. But it had something to do, he said, with what he saw as his mission—to go to his own people first…”
“The Arab people—the Muslim Arabs?”
“Yes. To preach the gospel to them…which is fine by us. We are a gospel-preaching, missionary-supporting church, you understand…and so that wasn’t really the problem…it just was that he hit us with this—no discussion—just out of the blue.”
“And some of your church people, they said that Mr. Amahn was talking and acting as if he believed he was a kind of messiah for his Arab people?”
Will was on his feet.
“Objection. Hearsay.”
“As you know,” Judge Mustafa noted with a smile, “the rules of evidence adopted for this tribunal are not the American rules of law. They are international in origin. We respect American law, but it is not the last word—nor even the first word here, for that matter. Hearsay can be admitted here unless there is a substantial prejudice—”
“The prejudice is severe,” Will countered, “because this is the linchpin of the prosecution’s case—that Gilead Amahn believed in his own spiritual messiahship and thus knowingly served as a kind of religious guru for the Knights of the Temple Mount. If they are going to try to prove his criminal intent through this ‘messiah’ theory, then let them call witnesses directly.”
“Oh, we will,” Zayed said, rising confidently. “Perhaps the American lawyer has not read our pretrial list of witnesses. We will call a witness who will testify to that exact fact, which is why there is no real prejudice in our bringing this out indirectly through hearsay now. What harm can it cause? How can you honored judges possibly be misled by this testimony?”
Will looked to the panel, and noticed Judge Lee Kwong-ju nodding in agreement.
Judge Mustafa wasted no further time and overruled the objection. And he accompanied it with a look that was universal in any language. Will got the message. If he continued objecting, it would be at his own peril.
The Last Judgment Page 27