Prosecutors say gun charges related to terror plot May 22, 2007
Posted by Scarecrow in 05/21/07 Houston Chronicle 14.add a comment
Prosecutors say gun charges related to terror plot
© 2007 The Associated Press
HOUSTON — A Pakistani student sought out firearms training in order to one day be able to fight U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, federal prosecutors told jurors Monday.
Syed Maaz Shah is on trial for federal firearms violations connected to camping trips he took in 2006. Authorities say the trips were organized by a group of Muslim men who wanted to receive paramilitary training in order to engage in a jihad or holy war against U.S. troops overseas.
But Shah’s attorney, Frank Jackson, told jurors during opening statements in the trial that his client is an honor student who comes from a good Muslim family and was “ensnared by the FBI” in a scheme to falsely accuse young Muslim men of terrorism related charges.
Shah was indicted on two counts of possession of a firearm by an alien and two counts of alien in possession of a firearm affecting interstate commerce. Prosecutors said he fired an Armalite assault rifle.
Shah, a 20-year-old engineering student at the University of Texas at Dallas, faces up to 10 years in prison for each count, if convicted.
Under federal law, a non-immigrant with a student visa such as Shah can’t have firearms or ammunition.
“These incidents are about possession of a firearm on two different occasions. We’re not talking about a jihad or armed insurrection,” Jackson said. “If the government had any evidence on those things, we’d be on trial for that.”
But prosecutor Shelley Hicks told jurors Shah was part of group of Muslim men who had become so dissatisfied with U.S. policies related to Iraq and other Muslim countries they began training in order to fight U.S. troops overseas.
Hicks said an undercover officer named Malik Mohamed infiltrated the group of men and recorded their conversations.
Shah “talks about being ready to go to jihad. He talks about needing a wife to support that because he might go at anytime,” Hicks said.
Officials said the FBI found extremist literature on Shah’s computer.
Mohamed testified Monday the men took part in five camping trips in 2005 and 2006.
Mohamed, whose role was to train the men, said the group was always looking for individuals who also wanted to take part in a jihad and that Shah was such a person.
But Jackson said Shah went on two camping trips in 2006 only to fish and didn’t know they would be firing weapons until he got to the site, located in a rural area near Willis, north of Houston.
“You’ll find Mr. Shah was entrapped,” Jackson said.
Last week, Shiraz Syed Qazi, 26, one of three other men arrested in connection with this case, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for firing weapons during these camping trips.
Two other men, Adnan Babar Mirza and Kobie Diallo Williams, were charged with conspiracy to join the Taliban and fight U.S. forces.
Mirza, a 29-year-old Pakistani who overstayed a student visa, also is charged with three counts of violating federal firearms laws. Mirza, who is Qazi’s cousin, is set for trial in October.
Williams, 33, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is set to be sentenced in October. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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Houston Man Pleads Guilty to Plotting to Join the Taliban May 11, 2007
Posted by Scarecrow in 11/28/06 Fox News.add a comment
Houston Man Pleads Guilty to Plotting to Join the Taliban
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
HOUSTON — A Houston man pleaded guilty after he and a Pakistani living illegally in the United States were charged with conspiring to join the Taliban and fight against U.S. forces, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle Jr. said a four-count indictment charges Kobie Diallo Williams, also known as Abdul Kabir, and Adnan Babar Mirza with conspiracy. Mirza, a 29-year-old Pakistani who overstayed a student visa, also is charged with three counts of violating federal firearms laws.
Williams, 33, a U.S. citizen living in Houston and attending the University of Houston-Downtown, surrendered Tuesday to members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the conspiracy charge. Mirza was already in custody on immigration violations.
“While these subjects did not operate at a high level of sophistication in comparison with the 9-11 hijackers, the expressed goal was to aid the Taliban by training to carry out jihad against coalition troops in the Middle East,” said Roderick Beverly, the head of the FBI’s local office.
/**/ Federal prosecutors also allege that Williams had provided approximately $350 to Taliban members or their families.
DeGabrielle said Williams was not charged with treason because he had not traveled outside the United States or taken any other overt actions to justify such a charge. He believed the money he had donated was going to families of the Taliban. He said neither man had any real contact with terrorist groups. He would not confirm whether the two had met with undercover agents posing as members of the Taliban.
DeGabrielle and Beverly said the investigation was nearly two years old and began with a referral from the U.S. Border Patrol, although they would not discuss further details.
Williams’ attorney, Alamdar S. Hamdani, said Williams chose not to fight the charges.
“He made a grave mistake,” said Hamdani. “And he has come forward to own up to that.”
Williams and Mirza are being held without bond. Williams faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Mirza’s maximum sentence would be 35 years in prison.
The indictment says Williams and Mirza viewed U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq as “invaders” and agreed in April 2005 that they should travel to the Middle East to fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The two then underwent at least eight sessions of firearms and/or reconnaissance training around Harris County, which surrounds Houston, and other area counties.
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American And Pakistani Taken Into Custody In Houston May 11, 2007
Posted by Scarecrow in 11/28/06 CBS News.add a comment
2 Men Accused Of Pro-Taliban Plot
American And Pakistani Taken Into Custody In Houston
HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2006
U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle, left, turns to leave a press conference as defense attorney John Floyd, far right, speaks to reporters Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006, in Houston. Federal officials announced that a Houston man and a Pakistani living illegally in the U.S. have been arrested and charged with conspiring to join the Taliban and fight against U.S. forces. (AP)
Quote
“While these subjects did not operate at a high level of sophistication in comparison with the 9-11 hijackers, the expressed goal was to aid the Taliban by training to carry out jihad against coalition troops in the Middle East.”
Roderick Beverly,
head of the FBI office in Houston
(AP) An American man pleaded guilty after he and a Pakistani living illegally in the United States were charged with conspiring to join the Taliban and fight against U.S. forces, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle Jr. said a four-count indictment charges Kobie Diallo Williams, also known as Abdul Kabir, and Adnan Babar Mirza with conspiracy. Mirza, a 29-year-old Pakistani who overstayed a student visa, also is charged with three counts of violating federal firearms laws.
Williams, 33, a U.S. citizen living in Houston and attending the University of Houston-Downtown, surrendered Tuesday to members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the conspiracy charge. Mirza was already in custody on immigration violations.
“While these subjects did not operate at a high level of sophistication in comparison with the 9-11 hijackers, the expressed goal was to aid the Taliban by training to carry out jihad against coalition troops in the Middle East,” said Roderick Beverly, the head of the FBI’s local office.
Federal prosecutors also allege that Williams had provided approximately $350 to Taliban members or their families.
DeGabrielle said Williams was not charged with treason because he had not traveled outside the United States or taken any other overt actions to justify such a charge. He believed the money he had donated was going to families of the Taliban. He said neither man had any real contact with terrorist groups. He would not confirm whether the two had met with undercover agents posing as members of the Taliban.
DeGabrielle and Beverly said the investigation was nearly two years old and began with a referral from the U.S. Border Patrol, although they would not discuss further details.
Williams’ attorney, Alamdar S. Hamdani, said Williams chose not to fight the charges.
“He made a grave mistake,” said Hamdani. “And he has come forward to own up to that.”
Williams and Mirza are being held without bond. Williams faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Mirza’s maximum sentence would be 35 years in prison.
The indictment says Williams and Mirza viewed U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq as “invaders” and agreed in April 2005 that they should travel to the Middle East to fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The two then underwent at least eight sessions of firearms and/or reconnaissance training around Harris County, which surrounds Houston, and other area counties.
©MMVI, The Associated Press.
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