Man charged as spy released after BIA arrest

BANGOR, Maine — A U.S. citizen working as a military translator in Iraq who authorities allege was a spy in the United States for the former regime of Saddam Hussein was released on bail Monday after appearing in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Issam Hamama, 58, of El Cajon, Calif., was picked up Friday at Bangor International Airport after getting off an international flight, said Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors in Detroit.

Information about where his travel originated was not available Tuesday.

Hamama was released on $35,000 unsecured bail Monday after surrendering his passport, according to court documents.

He was indicted in June by a federal grand jury in Detroit for conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S. “as an agent of a foreign government” and making false statements in 2003 and 2005 when he sought work and security clearances as a contract translator for the U.S. military in Iraq, and in 2006, when he was questioned by the FBI.

Hamama, an Iraqi native and naturalized U.S. citizen, has lived in the U.S. since 1981. He previously lived in Sterling Heights, Mich., near Detroit, according to the Detroit News.

Beginning in 1991, Hamama worked in the U.S. as a spy known as “agent 6129” for Saddam’s government, traveling to Washington, D.C., to take orders and money from the Iraqi Intelligence Service, according to the indictment.

Hamama allegedly applied to become a translator for the U.S. military in Iraq in 2003

and 2005 but failed to disclose his secret assignments for Saddam and the Ba’ath Party when he signed a security-clearance application.

The FBI has been investigating Hamama since 2003. In September 2006, he told agents that he didn't have a relationship with Iraqi intelligence officials and never was paid by Saddam’s government, according to the indictment.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 3 in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

There was no immediate information on whether officials believe Hamama’s work as a translator compromised sensitive information.

Three other Michigan men, according to the Detroit newspaper, have faced similar charges.

Chazi Al-Awadi, 78, of Dearborn was sentenced to 18 months in prison last December for spying for Iraq. He died before completing his sentence.

Najib Shemami, 60, of Sterling Heights is awaiting trial on similar charges. Jamal Bidawid, 67, of Sterling Heights, was charged but died in November 2007 before he could be tried.