Algerian Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to 5 Bomb Charges

An Algerian accused of transporting materials for a powerful bomb across the U.S.-Canada border entered a not guilty plea Wednesday as federal prosecutors issued a general warning to potential accomplices.

“If there is anybody out there that is an associate or has any plots or plans, now would be an excellent time to disassociate himself and come to the authorities,” Katrina Pflaumer, the U.S. attorney in Seattle, said after 32-year-old Ahmed Ressam’s arraignment in U.S. district court.

A federal grand jury earlier in the day returned a five-count indictment sufficient to hold Ressam on charges of illegally transporting explosive materials on a ferry between Victoria, British Columbia, and the small town of Port Angeles in Washington state.

But federal prosecutors would not discuss a widening investigation into Ressam’s purported ties with Islamic militants in Canada and refused to say whether the indictment would be used as leverage to persuade Ressam to name others who may have been involved in a plot to bomb targets in the U.S.

“Recent events that have been reported in the newspaper give us concern that there may be other people out there involved in other similar enterprises,” Pflaumer said. “I think we all need to be reflective and concerned as we reach the end of the century and the millennium. It’s a momentous time, and it’s significant to many people in many ways.”

In Washington, D.C., President Clinton had a similar message, urging citizens to “be careful” as the year’s end approaches.

“As citizens, I would say that they ought to go about their business and enjoy themselves and make the most of it,” Clinton said. “But I would ask them to be aware of the circumstances and, if they see something suspicious, to report it immediately.”

Clinton also sought to assure Americans that the government is doing “everything we possibly can, we’re taking extraordinary measures” to ensure their safety in light of Ressam’s arrest.

During his hearing Wednesday, Ressam listened quietly to the proceedings, which were translated into Arabic. He occasionally nodded, indicating that he understood the charges against him. U.S. Magistrate John L. Weinberg ordered Ressam held without bail.

“He’s holding up. He’s scared. He’s in a foreign country under difficult circumstances,” said chief federal public defender Thomas Hillier, who communicates with his client through an interpreter. “In English, he can say OK. Coca-Cola. But we seem to be developing a good rapport.”

Authorities are attempting to locate possible associates of Ressam’s--including one who purchased a second ferry ticket. The ticket stub was found in Ressam’s possession when he was detained by U.S. customs officers at the Port Angeles terminal following a search of his car.

A prime target of the search is a man who stayed with Ressam for several weeks at a Vancouver motel before Ressam’s departure for Victoria and the United States. Because Ressam had flight reservations to depart for London a day after his arrival in Washington state, authorities suspect that he may have intended to deliver his explosive cargo to someone already in the U.S.

Senior U.S. officials have said they are focusing on potential ties to Osama bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire who has organized and funded Islamic militant groups throughout the Middle East, including insurgents in Algeria who have sought to overthrow the government there and establish an Islamic state.

Bin Laden is believed to have directed last year’s bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

In Montreal, where Ressam lived for the last several years, authorities have said they also are looking at potential ties between Ressam and the Armed Islamic Group--the most militant of the Islamic factions in Algeria--responsible for some of the most brutal massacres in a civil war that has claimed 100,000 lives since 1992.

A communique in September from the secretive leader of that group, Antar Zouabri, warned of pending attacks against targets in the United States and elsewhere and insisted that Bin Laden would not be directing these attacks.

“We tell all the enemies of God in France, in the United States and elsewhere . . . that the explosions that took place in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and everywhere else prove that we execute our threats, and don’t think that it’s Bin Laden or someone else who is behind it, but it is the Armed Islamic Group who will poison you and who will make you taste the worst suffering as that which happened in France before. Wait for more bad things.”

The communique was distributed in the Algerian region of Tipaza after the massacre of several families there last fall, according to the leading Algiers daily, El Watan.

Algeria has been the scene of a rising spiral of violence over the last month as the Armed Islamic Group and other militant factions have stepped up their attacks during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began Dec. 9. The slaughter of 12 people and the wounding of three others as they left a mosque west of Algiers last week brought the death toll to nearly 70 since the beginning of the fasting month. An additional 40 people have been wounded and at least six were abducted, according to Algerian press reports.

Investigators in Montreal are exploring Ressam’s purported friendship with Karim Said Atmani, who was sought in France on charges stemming from a 1995 bombing in the Paris subway that killed four people and injured 86. The attack was attributed to the Armed Islamic Group.

U.S. prosecutors could seek a stronger indictment from a grand jury on more substantial charges if the investigation links Ressam to a bombing or terrorism conspiracy.

If convicted on all counts in the current indictment, Ressam would face a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $1-million fine. The charges are based on the fact that the material found in the wheel well of Ressam’s car could create a “destructive device [which] if used in combination would easily take down a building,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Jerry Diskin told the court.

After the hearing, both prosecutors and defense lawyers denied reports that they have launched discussions of a plea agreement aimed at winning Ressam’s cooperation in naming other potential suspects.

“That is pure speculation and is, in fact, inaccurate,” Pflaumer said.

Times staff writer Esther Schrader in Washington contributed to this story.