Defendant Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov has been charged in a twenty-eight count indictment with, among other offenses, eight counts of murder in aid of racketeering and eighteen counts of attempted murder, arising out of an attack in New York City on October 31, 2017, in which Defendant Saipov-purportedly acting on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”)-is alleged to have driven a flatbed truck onto a cycling and pedestrian pathway on the west side of lower Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring at least eighteen others.
Convicting Saipov of these counts requires proof that ISIS is an enterprise
engaged in racketeering activity, and that Saipov and ISIS entered into a manifest quid pro quo—murder for membership.
Specifically, the claims of responsibility and leadership messages are highly relevant as proof of the enterprise, and to demonstrate Saipov’s intent, motive, and purpose behind committing the charged crimes in Counts One through Count Twenty-Six.
The Government requests that Dr. Aaron Y. Zelin’s testimony regarding the ISIS leadership messages and claims of responsibility be deemed admissible expert testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
Terrorism Expert Witness
Dr. Aaron Y. Zelin is the Gloria and Ken Levy Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he also directs the Islamic State Worldwide Activity Map project. Zelin is also a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Politics at Brandeis University, Founder of the widely acclaimed website Jihadology, and a contributing writer for War on the Rock’s Adversarial newsletter. He is author of the book Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad (Columbia University Press), which was nominated for the Neave Memorial Book Prize in 2020. Zelin is currently working on a second book tentatively titled Heartland of the Believers: A History of Syrian Jihadism.
Zelin’s research focuses on Sunni jihadi groups in the Levant, North Africa, the Sahel, and Afghanistan as well as the trends of jihadi governance, online mobilization, and foreign fighting. Moreover, he has conducted field research in Tunisia, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel. Zelin has also testified and served as an expert witness in front of the U.S. House of Representatives and with the Department of Justice in federal judicial terrorism trials.
Discussion by the Court
Zelin will explain the means and method of ISIS, including the use of the internet and social media to disseminate its message, radicalize individuals, and communicate with individuals about committing acts of terror wherever necessary.
He will also explain the words and phrases used by ISIS, including those used to entice individuals to become “lone wolves” and provide a guide for those individuals to commit violent acts on behalf of ISIS to gain entry into ISIS. The Court believed that this testimony will assist the jury in understanding “ISIS’ enterprise status, the Defendant’s motive for committing his attack, and whether he provided material support to ISIS.” Moreover, the Defense has not identified a court, in this District or elsewhere, that precluded Zelin from testifying.
Held
The Court granted the Government’s motion to deem expert testimony of Dr. Zelin admissible.
Key Takeaway:
Zelin’s testimony was considered relevant to demonstrate Saipov’s intent, motive, and purpose behind committing the charged crimes in Counts One through Count Twenty-Six. The Court held that it was admissible as per the standards of Rule 702 and would help the jury in understandi “ISIS’ enterprise status.”
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | United States of America V. Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov |
| Docket Number: | 1:17cr722 |
| Court: | United States District Court, New York Southern |
| Order Date: | October 07, 2022 |
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