Bike-terror surveil twist
Feds watched for years
The man accused of killing eight people on Halloween 2017 by driving a truck on a crowded bicycle path along the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan was being watched by the government for years before the ISIS-inspired terror attack, according to a new court filing.
A lawyer for Sayfullo Saipov, who faces the death penalty, argues in a the heavily redacted Manhattan federal court filing Monday that prosecutors should turn over information about surveillance of their client’s conversations with two unnamed associates.
“The government revealed it had been surveilling Mr. Saipov and two of his associates for years, recording his conversations with them to gather information about his personal contacts, professional experiences, finances, and potential exposure to ISIS propa- ganda, violent jihadism, and Islamic extremism,” wrote Andrew Dalack, a member of Saipov’s courtappointed defense team.
The government listened to one of Saipov’s conversations with one of those associates as late as Oct. 30, 2017 — one day prior to the attacks, the filing states. In November, it was revealed that the government had been recording Saipov’s conversations with the associates for clues as to his finances, contacts and potential exposure to material from the Islamic State.
The government “must disclose any materials revealing Mr. Saipov’s alleged connection to ISIS so that he may adequately prepare for trial and a potential penalty phase,” Dalack argues in the new filing.
Prosecutors do not intend to present evidence gathered through surveillance of Saipov at his trial, which is scheduled to begin next year. Additionally, prosecutors oppose releasing information about the surveillance of Saipov prior to the attacks, saying he was never an investigative target.
But such information could be helpful to Saipov because, if those associates or other friends of Saipov who are suspected of having sympathies for Islamic extremism had influence over the accused mass murderer, a jury may find that the other parties share the blame for the deadly attack and decide to spare him from execution.