30 MINUTES AFTER THIS JAIL INTERVIEW, UJAAMA WAS TAKEN TO A SECRET LOCATION

James Ujaama
webmaster of
http://www.stopamerica.org

---

Exclusive: 'I am not a terrorist,' suspect tells News
By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
July 24, 2002

Denver native James Ujaama flatly denied Tuesday that he has ties to terrorist networks bent on bringing down the United States.

Ujaama, born here 36 years ago years as James Ernest Thompson, asserted his innocence during an exclusive 90-minute interview in a secure visitors area of the Denver City Jail. He spoke over a telephone line, addressing a reporter through thick protective glass.

"All I can say is that I am not a terrorist,'' said Ujaama, a slightly built man who spoke softly at first, but whose fervor built as the interview continued.

"I'm not associated with terrorists, but by the road we are taking right now, America has become the terrorists."Ujaama likened himself to Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and every other activist, civil rights leader or statesman who suffered police persecution as the reward for standing firm in his beliefs.

"This is the price we all pay, when we tell the truth," said Ujaama, who condemns the American government as corrupt and the bombing campaign in Afghanistan as unjustified.Ujaama, who moved with his mother to Seattle when he was 5, was arrested by a swarm of gun-toting federal agents late Monday afternoon at his grandmother's Denver home.

He has been told he is being held as a "material witness," although no one has told him what case he is alleged to be a material witness to. Published reports, however, have said that federal authorities believe he took laptop computers to the Taliban in Afghanistan and worked on a British Web site that advertised the "Ultimate Jihad Challenge," a U.S.-based paramilitary training course.As he spoke Tuesday, Ujaama wore a faded white T-shirt bearing the words "stop the war," and "stopamerica.org."

He admitted launching the "stopamerica.org" Web site last November while staying in London, where he has lived intermittently since converting to Islam in 1996.

"Some people told me 'stop America' might be too strong," he said. "I don't want to 'stop America.' I want to stop American foreign policy."

At the time of his arrest, Ujaama said he was developing a new Web site and "political action committee" to be called "peaceamerica.org."He confirmed Tuesday he has visited Karachi, Pakistan, several times in recent months, but he denied being a terrorist, having ties to terrorists or harboring any terrorist ambitions.

Instead, he said, his primary activity in Karachi has been launching a Web and software development company, while also exploring other avenues for economic development.

Of his arrest, Ujaama said, "I think it's a shakedown. It's a form of our government's abuse of its power."

"They're fishing," he added. "They're fishing, because that's all you can do when you've got nothing. They want me to come up with some lies, or something. They probably think I know a lot more than I really do."Ujaama, his hair cropped close and his jawline sporting a scruffy beard, confirmed that his disillusionment with American society and some aspects of its government prompted him to change his name, convert to Islam and move to London in 1996.

Ujaama said he moved from London to Denver on June 5 or 6 and had hoped to make his birthplace his home base.

He said he has a 12-year-old son, a 1-year-old daughter and has been married six years. He declined to say where his immediate family is living, citing concerns about their safety."I always wanted to live in Denver," he said. "I love it here. I've wanted to think about this as a place where I can come back to, where I can contribute to my family and to my city."In discussing his arrest, he said that his aunt, Carola Webb, was present at the time. Questioned whether he was related to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, he smiled and said, "That's for you to find out."Mayoral spokesman Andrew Hudson confirmed later in the day that Carola Webb was once married to the mayor's son, Allen Webb Sr.

Although he steadfastedly denied terrorist ties, Ujaama refused to discuss whether he has ever met with members of the Taliban, or even where he was on Sept. 11.

On those and similar questions, he said he wanted to talk to a lawyer before saying more.

His reaction to the events of Sept. 11, he said, was much the same as that of most other Americans.

"I was in shock," he said. "I didn't believe it. I could not believe it."

But Ujaama repeatedly blasted the Bush administration and asserted Americans still have not heard the truth about its ties to corporations that have been caught up in accounting scandals and devastating bankruptcies in the past year.

"Our government has gone completely berserk, and it's in a quest to line a few people's pockets," he said.

Ujaama called the interview to a halt only when a jail sergeant told him his time was up.

"They told me they're flying me today to Virginia," he said, as he stood to return to his cell.

Thirty minutes later, jail officials said Ujaama was no longer in their custody, but would not say where he had been moved.

brennanc [at] RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-2742

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1283613,00.html