Posted on 10/06/2004 5:35:23 PM PDT by Ginifer
A British computer specialist has been indicted formally in the US on charges that he used websites to recruit and finance Taliban fighters.
Babar Ahmad, 30, was arrested in London in August and has been held in the UK pending the outcome of extradition proceedings.
Ahmad allegedly ran the site azzam.com, which investigators say was used to funnel money to terrorists.
"Azzam Publications has been set up to propagate the call for jihad ... to incite the believers and also, secondly, to raise some money for the brothers," the website allegedly said.
Donors were encouraged to smuggle cash into Pakistan and pass it to the Taliban's consul general, investigators said.
Investigators also said Ahmad had obtained classified military documents describing the movements and formations of a Navy battle group.
The indictment levies formal charges against Ahmad. His extradition is expected to take more than a year.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit unsealed in Connecticut this summer, the Navy document was discovered by investigators on a floppy disk at his parents' house in London, where he lived as recently as 2001. Authorities also said they found a compact disc with audio tracks praising Osama bin Laden.
Ahmad was allegedly exchanging emails with a US Navy enlistee aboard the USS Benfold, US Attorney Kevin O'Connor said. Authorities have not named the man, who investigators said was sympathetic to the jihad cause.
Good, another one down.
This guy is not a Briton. He is - at best - a British citizen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.