Publisher Is Found Guilty of Spying on Iraqis in U.S.

CHICAGO — A community newspaper publisher accused of spying on Iraqi dissidents in the United States was found guilty Monday of serving as an unregistered agent for Saddam Hussein.

The jury took less than two hours to convict Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi.

“This sends an important message that people can’t come to our country and spy on their fellow residents,” U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Fitzgerald said.

Dumeisi, 61, was convicted of failing to obey a federal law that requires agents of foreign governments to register with the Justice Department.

Prosecutors said that the Palestinian-born Dumeisi had spied on Iraqis because he needed money and admired Hussein, who supported the Palestinian cause. They cited $3,000 in payments from Iraq to the debt-ridden publisher.

Dumeisi faces up to 25 years in prison at sentencing March 30.

Dumeisi was not charged with espionage, nor was he accused of terrorism. His tiny newspaper, Al Mahjar, was full of articles critical of U.S. policy and praising the Iraqi leader.