08/06/2003

By ABE ESTIMADA and DOUG IRVING, kgw.com Staff

PORTLAND, Oregon -- A Hillsboro software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that he tried to aid the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Maher "Mike" Hawash entered the guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Portland on Tuesday morning. Under a plea agreement, the federal government will dismiss charges that Hawash was trying to levy war against the United States and aid terrorist groups.

Maher 'Mike' Hawash (FBI mug shot/kgw.com photo)

Hawash also confessed in court papers that he gave money to those who wanted to assist the Taliban and tried to obtain passports that would allow him to enter Afghanistan through Pakistan.

A federal complaint filed in late April accused Hawash of trying to enter Afghanistan in 2001 with five of the other Portland suspects to fight against U.S. forces. Hawash traveled with the five men through China and stayed at the same hotels on at least three occasions, according to the document. The group failed to reach Afghanistan.

Hawash, the five other men and a woman accused of sending money to them have been dubbed the “Portland Seven.” The others were arrested late last year.

Maher 'Mike' Hawash. (Family Photo/kgw.com Photo)

Hawash’s case had drawn national attention, putting a face on the ongoing debate over government secrecy in the war against terrorism. Crowds of friends and supporters had gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland during his earlier court appearances to protest his detention.

Hawash had worked for Intel for about a decade.