DATE=12/22/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S TERRORISM / PLEA (S-L)
NUMBER=257415
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=

Intro:   Ahmed Ressam, the Algerian man arrested last 
week by U-S authorities in the western state of 
Washington, pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that 
he tried to bring explosive materials into the United 
States from Canada.  VOA's Alisha Ryu has details from 
our West Coast Bureau.
   

Text:   Ahmed Ressam appeared before U-S District 
Judge John Weinberg to enter his pleas.  Speaking 
through an Arabic interpreter, Mr. Ressam said he was 
innocent of all five federal charges filed against 
him.  The accusations include making false statements 
to U-S customs inspectors; transporting explosives; 
and smuggling bomb-making nitroglycerin across the 
border.

Mr. Ressam nodded yes when asked if he understood the 
meaning of his pleas.  The judge ordered him to remain 
in custody without bail after Assistant U-S Attorney 
Francis Diskin argued the material found in Mr. 
Ressam's car was enough to build a powerful bomb and 
that Mr. Ressam posed a threat to the community.

If convicted on all five counts, Mr. Ressam could face 
up to 40 years in prison and a fine of more than one 
million dollars.

            // Rest Opt for long  //

U-S customs officials stopped Ahmed Ressam last 
Tuesday after he entered Port Angeles, Washington 
state on a ferry from Victoria, Canada. Officials say 
the man was carrying two jars of nitroglycerin and 
more than 50 kilograms of other potentially explosive 
material in his rented car.  

Investigators say they have not yet determined what 
Mr. Ressam's motive might have been.

His arrest, and the arrest of another Algerian man at 
the Canadian border in the eastern state of Vermont 
Sunday, has heightened fears of terrorism in the 
United States.  The U-S State Department has already 
issued warnings of possible terrorist attacks against 
Americans overseas during the holiday season. (Signed) 



NEB/PT



  



22-Dec-1999 20:44 PM EDT (23-Dec-1999 0144 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.