Satam al-Suqami
Satam M. A. al-Suqami (b. June 28, 1978 in Riyadh) was a hijacker on American Airlines Flight 11. Al-Suqami studied Islamic law at King Fahd University in Riyadh.
Timeline
1998-1999
- August 11, 1998 - Passport issued for Satam al-Suqami
- September 29, 1998 - al-Suqami opened an account at the Hay al-Safarai Branch of the Saudi Netherlands Bank.
- November 5, 1998 - al-Suqami entered and departed Jordan, and entered Syria.
- November 11, 1998 - al-Suqami departed Syria, entered and departed Jordan. and returned to Saudi Arabia.
- February 19, 1999 - al-Suqami entered Saudi Arabia.
- February 24, 1999 - al-Suqami entered Jordan at Jaber Borders, departed Jordan, and entered Syria.
- March 7, 1999 - al-Suqami departed Syria.
- May 13, 1999 - departed King Fahad Causeway, Bahrain
- May 15, 1999 - entered Saudi Arabia.
2000
Travels
- January 18, 2000 - UAE immigration stamp.
- April 4, 2000 - Entered the UAE via Sharjah
- April 6, 2000 - Departed UAE
- April 7, 2000 - Arrived in Egypt, via Cairo.
- April 18, 2000 - UAE Immigration stamp and exit stamp from Oman.
- July 11, 2000 - Departed from Cairo, Egypt
- July 12, 2000 - Arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Information about this were sent to authorities in Singapore and New York.
- September 23, 2000 - Departed Malaysia via Changloon.
- September 24, 2000 - Entered Turkey via Istanbul.
- November 2, 2000 - Departs Turkey via Istanbul.
- November 15, 2000 - Departed Qatar via Doha International Airport.
- November 16, 2000 - Entered Saudi Arabia.
Obtains a visa
- November 21 - Satam al Suqami applied for and received a two-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There is very strong evidence that the passport Suqami submitted with this application had fraudulent travel stamps now associated with al Qaeda. Suqami left blank the line on which he was asked to supply the name and street address of his present employer. The consular officer who issued the visa said he interviewed Suqami because he described his present occupation as “dealer,” the word Saudis often put on their applications when they meant “businessman.” The officer testified that he asked Suqami a number of questions, including, he believes, who was paying for the trip. Although the officer stated that notes were always taken during interviews, none were written on Suqami’s application, raising the possibility that the officer’s memory of having conducted an interview was false. In any case, Suqami evidently raised no suspicions and his application was approved.[1]
- November 23, 2000 - Exit stamp from Bahrain.
- November 24, 2000 - Saudi Arabia entrance and departure stamps.
- November 25, 2000 - Gulf Air 334 from Bahrain to Tehran, Iran with Majed Moqed.
- November 25, 2000 - Departed Bahrain.
- November 26, 2000 - Entered Turkey via Istanbul.
2001
- April 23 - Waleed al-Shehri and Satam al-Suqami, both Saudis, entered together at Orlando from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Suqami was the only Saudi muscle hijacker admitted on business, and only for one month. Shehri was admitted as a tourist for a six month stay. Both were admitted by the same primary immigration inspector. Suqami’s passport survived the attack: a passerby picked it up from the World Trade Center and handed to a New York Police Department detective shortly before the towers collapsed. Later analysis showed that it contained what are now believed to be fraudulent travel stamps associated with al Qaeda. Upon reviewing color copies of the document, the inspector who admitted Suqami told the Commission he did not note any such fraud. Indeed, he could not have been expected to identify the fraud at the time of Suqami’s admission—it was not discovered by the intelligence community until after the attacks.[1]
- April 30 - Bimini Motel and Apartments at 1600 North Ocean Drive in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Waleed al-Shehri was with another individual, believed to be Suqami. He rented #8N at Bimini, from April 30 through May 28. A third Middle Eastern male, who spoke German, visited often and mentioned that the other two were going to get their pilots license at Pembroke Airport School at Perry Airport.[2][3]
- May 1 - Suntrust Bank statement bank account, Visa Debit Card opened for Satam al-Suqami
- May 3 - Pays cash for a red 1993 Dodge Colt from Richard Hauser Motor Corp,and purchases auto insurance from Old Cutler Insurance in Miami. Shehri asked that Suqami also be listed as an insured driver. Suqami gave his date of birth as June 28, 1978 and provided a ficticious drivers' license number.
- May 16 - Waleed al Shehri and Suqami traveled together from Fort Lauderdale on Continental Airlines Flight 9273 to Freeport in the Bahamas, where they reserved three nights at the Bahamas Princess Resort. They turned in their arrival record, which was now acting as an exit record, boarded the plane, and arrived in Freeport. The trip was intended to extend Suqami’s legal length of stay in the United States. Bahamian immigration refused the two entry, however, because neither had a Bahamian visa. They therefore had to return to their starting point, in this case Fort Lauderdale. Because they never entered the Bahamas, under U.S. immigration law they had never left the United States. After being refused entry by the Bahamian INS at Freeport, they were sent through U.S. “pre-clearance” before boarding the plane back to Miami. By making possible immigration inspections of U.S.-bound travelers prior to their arrival, preclearance helped ease the burden of admission at busy U.S. airports. These stations also prevented travelers deemed inadmissible from boarding U.S.-bound planes. In this preclearance process, immigration waived them through but customs stopped Shehri. The inspection lasted one minute; Shehri was not personally searched, nor was his luggage x-rayed. They boarded Continental Airlines Flight 9312 and returned to Miami. Shehri and Suqami were scheduled to return to the United States on May 19.[1][3]
- July 6 - Wail and Waleed Shehri, along with Satam al-Suqami, purchase a one-month membership at World Gym, located at Hypoluxo Road and Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach, Florida.[4][3]
- June 6 - 13 - Al-Shehri and al-Suqami register and stay in Room 11 at the Lago Mar Apartments in Lake Worth, Florida.[2]
- September 4 - Waleed al-Shehri purchased two tickets, for a price of $573.50, at World Travel Tours in Fort Lauderdale for Abdulaziz al-Omari and Satam al-Suqami for Delta Air Lines Flight 2462, departing Fort Lauderdale on September 6 and arriving at Boston's Logan International Airport.
- September 10 - Stayed at Park Inn in Newton, Massachusetts, with Waleed M. al-Shehri and Satam M. A. al-Suqami. They possibly left a discarded sheet of instructions on how to fly a transcontinental jetliner in their hotel room. (Hijackers also previously stayed at three other Boston-area hotels - Milner Hotel in Beacon Hill, the Days Hotel in Brighton, and the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square) The three men checked into the Park Inn on Sept. 5 and reportedly called a prostitute to tryst with them there. Abdul Aziz al-Omari, may have also spent a night at the Park Inn before leaving for Portland, Maine, with conspiracy mastermind Mohamed Atta on Sept. 10.[5]
Documents
References