TORONTO — The U.S. Department of Justice extradited and charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi on May 15. Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and commander in Kataib Hezbollah, pleaded not guilty to federal charges on Monday.
The federal charges against Al-Saadi relate to 18 attacks. These charges include conspiring to provide material support to Kataib Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also faces charges of conspiring to bomb a public site and destroying property by means of fire or explosives. Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi plotted attacks against a New York City synagogue.
Al-Ahrar Palestinian Prisoner Support issued a statement calling for the U.S. to release Al-Saadi. The activist organization described the attributed actions as legitimate wartime actions and condemned Turkey for arresting Al-Saadi prior to extradition. The organization operates a Canada-based branch and maintains branches in New York and New Jersey. The organization is part of Masar Badil Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path, which organizationally overlaps with Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, designated as a terrorist entity.
The organization defended a March shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto. It also compared Al-Saadi to Elias Rodriguez. The activist organization stated, "Mohammad Al-Saadi deserves widespread and unconditional support for his role in struggling against imperialism, whatever that may have looked like - from having a relationship with martyr leader Qassem Soleimani to being yet another criminalized Iranian-Arab Muslim man to potentially even being a member of the Resistance to simply stating that the U.S. is committing war crimes against his people while in court - these are all experiences worthy of uplifting and sharing." Al-Saadi said, "We are in a war situation."