WASHINGTON (TNND) — New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani tapped an attorney who previously represented al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi to be the city’s chief counsel.
Mamdani shared on Tuesday that he selected Ramzi Kassem for the highest legal position in the Big Apple because of “his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system.”
Kassem’s experience includes serving under the Biden administration as a senior policy advisor for immigration on the White House Domestic Policy Council. Kassem represented Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian, who was arrested by ICE earlier this year for his alleged involvement in anti-Israel protests on Columbia’s campus. He was released from ICE detention in June, but his case remains unresolved.
But most famously, Kassem represented convicted terrorist al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty in 2014 for his role in a 2002 al Qaeda terrorist plot to bomb the French oil tanker MV Limburg located off the Yemen coast.
The terror attack killed one civilian and injured several others.
In 2018, the Trump administration transferred al-Darbi to be in the custody of Saudi Arabia, a move which Kassem applauded. At the time of the transfer, Mamdani’s top legal counsel expressed pity for the convicted terrorist who he said has endured “16 long and painful years in captivity.”
“While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed,” Kassem said.
Kassem also found the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) law clinic, which is centered around supporting “Muslim and all other client, communities, and movements in the New York City area and beyond that are targeted by local, state, or federal government agencies under the guise of national security and counterterrorism.”
An immigrant from Lebanon, Kassem expressed his appreciation to Mamdani to allow him the opportunity to “serve the city that I’ve called home, the city that embraced me.”
“I grew up in war-torn countries in the Middle East, authoritarian regimes, and New York City was really my first stable and permanent home,” said Kassem.
“This is an opportunity for me to repay that debt. I’ve been trying to repay that debt ever since I came to this country, ever since I immigrated.”
In addition to announcing Kassem’s appointment on Tuesday, Mamdani also chose Steven Banks to serve as corporation counsel and Helen Arteaga to serve as deputy mayor for health and human services.