Evan F. Kohlmann
Born1979 (age 44–45)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materGeorgetown University
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Occupation(s)Terrorism consultant; senior investigator; terrorism analyst; expert witness
Employer(s)The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation;
NBC News
Notable workAl- Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network
Websiteglobalterroralert.com

Evan F. Kohlmann (born 1979) is an American terrorism consultant who has worked for the FBI and other governmental organizations.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

He is a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog, a senior investigator with The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation, and a terrorism analyst for NBC News.[1]

In his manifesto Anders Behring Breivik copied 25 pages verbatim from an ideological text by Evan Kohlmann and published by an institute led by Magnus Ranstorp.[7]

Early life and education

In the profile for the Penn Law Journal, Kohlmann said he spent summers in France while growing up, because his father studied there. Kohlmann graduated from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He attended the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he studied under Mamoun Fandy.[2] Fandy's mentorship sparked his interest in Middle East politics. "When [Fandy] lived in Egypt, he passed by the number two guy in al-Qaeda there every day. He really knew his subject."

Kohlmann entered the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the fall of 2001, a few weeks before al-Qaeda's attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.[2]

Counter-terrorism career

Kohlmann worked as an intern at The Investigative Project, a Washington, DC, counter-terrorism think-tank.[2][8]

He wrote Al- Qaida’s Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network.[9]

He is a Senior Terrorism Consultant for The NEFA Foundation.[10][11] He is also a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog,[12] and a terrorism analyst for NBC News.[1]

He has called Anwar al-Awlaki "one of the principal jihadi luminaries for would-be homegrown terrorists. His fluency with English, his unabashed advocacy of jihad and mujahideen organizations, and his Web-savvy approach are a powerful combination." He calls al-Awlaki's lecture "Constants on the Path of Jihad", which he says was based on a similar document written by al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia's founder, the "virtual bible for lone-wolf Muslim extremists."[13]

Guantanamo courtroom

He produced The Al Qaida Plan, a 90-minute movie, to serve as evidence and stress relief during the Guantanamo Military Commissions,[14][15] which was sponsored by the Office of Military Commissions. According to Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald: "He modeled the video after The Nazi Plan, an instructional movie shown at the late 1940s Nuremberg tribunals for the most senior Nazi leadership."

Initially Captain Keith Allred, the President of Salim Ahmed Hamdan's Military Commission ruled that the film would be prejudicial, but he reversed this decision.[15]

Expert witness

Kohlmann has served frequently as an expert witness for the prosecution in terrorism trials.[2][16][17] "There haven’t been that many cases yet, so sometimes the prosecutors are doing their first ones. I know how the courts work, so I am pretty valuable right now.” Despite being considered a terrorism expert, Kohlmann cannot read, write or speak Arabic.[18]

His expertise and neutrality have been disputed by defense attorneys and other experts, while his book ″Al-Qaida’s Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network″ was declined by University of Pennsylvania Press.[19]

He testified as an expert witness in the following cases:[20]

CaseDefendantNotes
U.S. v. Sabri BenkhalaSabri Benkhala
U.S. v. Ali TimimiAli al-Timimi
U.S. v. Uzair ParachaUzair Paracha
U.S. v. Ali Asad ChandiaAli Asad Chandia
U.S. v. Yassin ArefYassin Aref
  • Kohlmann was a last-minute replacement for the prosecution's original witness, Rohan Gunaratna.[23]
U.S. v. Rafiq SabirRafiq Abdus Sabir
  • Medical doctor who allegedly agreed to provide clandestine medical treatment to wounded jihadists, and to have sworn bayat to a government agent pretending to be al-Qaeda official.[24]
U.S. v. Emadeddine MuntasserEmadeddine Muntasser
Regina v. Mohammed Ajmal Khan and Palvinder Singh
  • Mohammed Ajmal Khan
  • Palvinder Singh
H.M.A. v. LawyersMohammed Atif Sidique
  • Bin Laden's driver's trial
Regina v. Samina MalikSamina Malik
Regina v. Hassan MutegombwaHassan Mutegombwa
Regina v. TsouliYounes Tsouli (Irhabi 007)
  • Convicted of inciting terrorist murder through the publication of Al Qaeda propaganda on the internet.[25][26]

Publications

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 CTC Sentinel, January 2008. Vol 1. Issue 2 (p. 9), Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy (West Point)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Robert Strauss (Fall 2006). "Terrorists Beware: Kohlmann is on the case". Penn Law Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  3. ↑ Kevin Berger (March 2, 2007). "The Iraq insurgency for beginners". Salon magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  4. ↑ Yuki Noguchi, Evan Kohlmann (April 19, 2006). "Tracking Terrorists Online". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  5. ↑ Evan Kohlmann (August 8, 2005). "Al Qaeda and the Internet". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  6. ↑ Europe, Council of (April 19, 2006). Cyberterrorism: the use of the internet for terrorist purposes, Council of Europe, 2007, ISBN 92-871-6226-3, accessed February 8, 2010. Council of Europe. ISBN 9789287162267. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  7. ↑ ""Flat granskning av Breiviks bakgrund" ("Lenient scrutiny of Breivik's background")". Fria.Nu. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Weimann, Gabriel (September 11, 2001). Terror on the Internet: the new arena, the new challenges, Gabriel Weimann, US Institute of Peace Press, 2006, ISBN 1-929223-71-4, accessed February 8, 2010. US Institute of Peace Press. ISBN 9781929223718. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  9. ↑ Kohlmann, Evan F. (2004). Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network. Berg. ISBN 1-85973-807-9. Evan Kohlmann.
  10. ↑ Babbin, Jed L. (2004-05-21). Inside the asylum: why the UN and Old Europe are worse than you think, Jed L. Babbin, Regnery Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-89526-088-3. Regnery. ISBN 9780895260888. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  11. ↑ "The NEFA Foundation – About Us". nefafoundation.org. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Counterterrorism Blog". Counterterrorism Blog. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  13. ↑ Meyer, Josh (November 9, 2009). "Fort Hood shooting suspect's ties to mosque investigated". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  14. ↑ Carol Rosenberg (2008-07-29). "Lawyers give expert testimony at bin Laden's driver's trial". McClatchy News Service. Archived from the original on 2008-07-29. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  15. 1 2 "US-produced Al-Qaida movie played at Gitmo trial". Associated Press. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-07-28. mirror
  16. ↑ Smith, George (October 2, 2007). "The War on Terror's professional witness". The Register. Situation Publishing Ltd. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  17. ↑ Lettice, John (October 23, 2007). "Jailed terror student 'hid' files in the wrong Windows folder". The Register. Situation Publishing Ltd. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  18. ↑ "In High-Profile Cases, Tapping Terror Experts for Testimony Becomes de Rigueur - WNYC". Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  19. ↑ "A Terrorism Expert's Secret Relationship with the FBI". 2015-07-27.
  20. ↑ Evan Kohlmann. "About GlobalTerroristAlert". Global Terrorist Alert. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Teacher jailed for aiding LeT". The Times of India. August 26, 2006. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2008. A 29-year-old Maryland man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
  22. ↑ "Ali Asad Trial – May 30, 2006". Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  23. ↑ "U.S. v. YASSIN MUHIDDIN AREF and MOHAMMED MOSHARREF HOSSAIN" (PDF). talkleft. September 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2008. On September 24, 2006, the government substituted expert Evan Kohlmann in place of Rohan Gunaratna, and he prepared and submitted a report. In the one paragraph that he devotes to JEI, he does not talk about JEI Bangladesh, but rather switches to JEI generally, which is an organization which is markedly different in different countries.
  24. ↑ "Doctors can't treat terrorists: US judge". The Age. January 31, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  25. ↑ Dover, Robert; Goodman, Michael S. (2009). Spinning Intelligence: Why Intelligence Needs the Media, Why the Media Needs Intelligence, Robert Dover, Michael S. Goodman, Columbia University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-231-70114-4. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231701143. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  26. ↑ Crown Prosecution Service (July 5, 2007). Three men admit using internet to incite terrorism in first British case. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
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