Court Case

USA v. Suliman, Mohamed Fathy

September 2020 (Updated February 23, 2021)
Gainesville, FL
ISIS

A former resident of Gainesville, Florida, was recently expelled from a foreign country and returned to the United States by the FBI for prosecution. Mohamed Fathy Suliman, a U.S. citizen, was charged with attempting to provide material support, including personnel (himself) and services, to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. It is alleged that Suliman left Gainesville, Florida, travelled to Turkey, and attempted to enter Syria illegally in 2014 in an effort to join and support ISIS. Suliman made a one-way flight reservation in June 2014, from Orlando, Florida, to Alexandria, Egypt, with stops in Chicago, Illinois, and Istanbul, Turkey. He initiated his travel in June 2014 but when he arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, rather than traveling on to Egypt, Suliman paid cash for a one-way airline ticket to the Turkish/Syrian border town of Gaziantep, Turkey. In June 2014, he was arrested by Turkish authorities for illegally crossing into Syria from Turkey. A search of an email account subscribed to by Suliman also revealed approximately 36 email attachments that contained various audio files that consisted of messages calling for jihad, justifications for jihad, rewards for those who participate in jihad and martyrdom, and that encouraged fighting against the crusaders, infidels (non-Muslims), and those that insult the Prophet Muhammad. The email attachments were dated from May 2009 through October 2012. It was also alleged that in both August and December of 2014, Suliman's Facebook account displayed an ISIS profile photo featuring the black flag that is ISIS's symbol. He was indicted in February 2021 with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Case Updates

2021-02-23 | Former Florida Resident Mohamed Suliman Indicted For Attempting To Provide Material Support To ISIS

Mohamed Fathy Suliman was indicted in February 2021 with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Suliman, formerly of Gainesville, was previously charged by a criminal complaint and made his initial appearance on February 1. He was arrested by the FBI following his expulsion from a foreign country. The prior complaint filed in the case alleged that Suliman, 33, left Gainesville, Florida, travelled to Turkey, and attempted to enter Syria illegally in 2014 in an effort to join and support ISIS. He made a one-way flight reservation in June 2014 from Orlando, Florida, to Alexandria, Egypt, with stops in Chicago, Illinois, and Istanbul, Turkey. Suliman initiated his travel on June 12, 2014, but when he arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, rather than traveling on to Egypt, he paid cash for a one-way airline ticket to the Turkish/Syrian border town of Gaziantep, Turkey. In June 2014, he was arrested by Turkish authorities for illegally crossing into Syria from Turkey. During an interview of Suliman by an FBI agent in 2018, the indictment alleges that he stated he had researched how to get to Syria, and had purchased the plane ticket to Egypt to disguise his true travel plans from family and others. Suliman also allegedly admitted that he purchased the airline ticket to Gaziantep, Turkey, with cash to avoid creating an electronic record of the purchase. Suliman went on to admit that he attempted to enter Syria and was arrested by Turkish authorities.

Case Documents