A former Atlanta man was convicted of terrorism this week, five years after his 3-year-old son was kidnapped and later found dead in a northern New Mexico compound.
Prosecutors told New Mexico jurors that the boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and other members of his family fled with the toddler to a remote stretch of the high desert so they could engage in firearms and tactical training to prepare for attacks against the government, The Associated Press reported. Wahhaj believed that the boy would be resurrected as Jesus, according to prosecutors.
Jurors, who took 2½ days to reach a verdict, heard weeks of testimony from a variety of people, including children who lived with their parents at the compound, other family members, firearms experts, doctors and forensic technicians. The defendants, who are Muslim, argued that federal authorities targeted them because of their religion.
Hakima Ramzi told investigators she believed her husband in November 2017 when he said he was taking their 3-year-old son, Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, to a Clayton County park. It was the last time she saw the boy alive.
In August 2018, the boy’s body was found on what would have been his 4th birthday.
Authorities have said they believe the boy may have died because rather than giving him seizure medicine his father performed rituals to rid him of evil spirits. Due to trouble getting oxygen during birth, Abdul-Ghani had many medical problems, including seizures, as well as cognitive and developmental delays.
Before Wahhaj went into the desert with four adult relatives and 12 of their children around December, at least one friend heard the man speaking of trying to rid the child of a “curse,” the friend previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Wahhaj’s brother-in-law also was convicted of terrorism charges, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and kidnapping that resulted in the boy’s death. Wahhaj’s sisters were convicted on the kidnapping charges.
Wahhaj, who represented himself in court, will be sentenced at a later date.
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