“Mass. man goes to trial on US terror charges”
By Denise Lavoie
AP Legal Affairs Writer / October 22, 2011
SNIPPET: “BOSTON—Prosecutors portray Tarek Mehanna as a terrorist in the making, a man who tried to help al-Qaida by promoting violent jihad online and traveling to Yemen to seek training in a terrorist camp.”
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3254/prosecutors-say-mehanna-plotted-jihad
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Prosecutors Say Mehanna Plotted Jihad”
by IPT News • Oct 27, 2011 at 3:45 pm
SNIPPET: “Opening statements began Thursday in the federal trial of a Massachusetts man charged with conspiring to help al-Qaida terrorists.
Tarek Mehanna “began translating jihad material … material that would encourage others to participate in jihad, which was itself a service to Al Qaeda,” federal prosecutor Aloke Chakravarty told the 16-member jury, the Boston Globe reported.
Chakravarty drew attention to an al-Qaida manual translated by Mehanna called “39 Ways to Make Jihad.”
“This is essentially training material to get ready to serve and participate in that fight,” Chakravarty said.
But defense lawyers claim Mehanna visited Yemen for religious purposes and his online jihadi activities are protected by the First Amendment as long as they do not involve a terrorist organization.”