A former Syracuse University student was indicted Wednesday along with three other Syracuse-area men on charges of illegally sending money to Iraq.

Maher Zagha, along with Rafil Dhafir and Osameh al Wahaidy of Fayetteville and Ayman Jarwan of Syracuse, is charged with transferring up to $4 million to Iraq in violation of U.S. and U.N. sanctions. The four allegedly solicited funds through the Web site of an organization called Help the Needy, which claimed to be assisting children and the elderly within Iraq. The money was deposited in Central New York banks and sent to Iraq via the Jordan Islamic Banks. Zagha took two classes at SU in the summer of 1990, said Kevin Morrow, university spokesman, who was unable to specify which classes.

Zagha had been previously admitted to the university in 1988, receiving an application for a student visa, but did not attend. Zagha’s brother Hazem also attended SU, graduating in 1986 with a degree in computer engineering.

Melvyn Levitsky, a professor in the Global Affairs Institute in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said that the statutes under which the men were indicted is part of the multi-lateral sanctions levied against Iraq by the U.N Security Council.

“All U.N. members, as signatories of the U.N. Charter, are obligated to uphold the Security Council resolutions,” Levitsky said.

The men may also be charged under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law which allows authorities to block the transfer of funds to nations under sanctions, Levitsky said. In the past, the law has been used to block the movement of funds to nations such as Iraq and Cuba.

“It’s sort of like aiding and abetting the enemy,” Levitsky said, “except in this case, it’s not called the enemy. It’s a sanctioned country.”

Students reacted to the indictment with a mixture of concern and caution. Ashley Luongo, a sophomore television, radio and film major, said that the involvement of a former student casts the impending conflict with Iraq in a new light.

“I just think it’s a little scarier for us because it hits so close to home,” Luongo said. “When it’s in Iraq, it’s out of sight, out of mind.”

Chad Freundlich, a sophomore biology major, said that students should be careful not to overreact until the true purpose of the fund transfers is known.

“I think that no reaction can be made until further evidence is proven, but if [Zagha] is found guilty, he should be prosecuted to the highest degree,” Freundlich said.

Published on February 26, 2003 at 12:00 pm