Posted on 07/20/2006 8:00:01 PM PDT by oxcart
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Pakistani convicted of supporting an al Qaeda plot to blow up U.S. gas stations was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Thursday in a case Washington has called a victory in its war on terror.
Uzair Paracha, 26, has said he falsely confessed under the pressure of three days of interrogation by the FBI, but U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein said Paracha "knew what he was doing" in lending support to al Qaeda.
Paracha remained calm after the sentence was read and waved to relatives as he left the courtroom wearing a blue prison jumpsuit.
A jury in November convicted him on five counts including conspiracy to provide and providing material support to al Qaeda. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year cited the case as one of the top U.S. legal victories in the fight against violent extremists.
Prosecutors said Paracha attended several meetings in Pakistan with his father Saifullah Paracha and suspected al Qaeda members Majid Khan and Ammar al-Baluchi.
They said Paracha agreed to mail travel documents to Khan in Pakistan and hold $200,000 in al Qaeda funds. The government believes Khan was planning to blow up gas stations in Maryland.
Little evidence of the suspected plot was presented at the trial, and the judge noted that FBI questioning revealed Paracha did not know details of any planned attack.
"You are a very intelligent and particularly educated young man," the judge said. "You made a very serious mistake here. It is a loss to the American community and a loss to the Pakistani community."
The other suspects are being held in undisclosed locations and have not been charged. Defence lawyer Edward Wilford said Paracha had been used by them. But prosecutor Karl Metzner disagreed, calling for a long sentence.
"The consequences of the conduct that Mr. Paracha tried to help orchestrate could have been catastrophic," Metzner said.
So sad.
Why isn't Bush keeping us safe???
Ih wait...
Wonder if he'll get Florence Supermax.
In Texas we would hook him up to his manhood and...
"You are a very intelligent and particularly educated young man,"
But I thought poverty and lack of education turned Muslims into terrorists... gasp!
The real injustice here is that the government may have been listening to this guy's personal phone calls.
/sarc
NOVEMBER 2005 Wednesday : (UZAIR PARACHA GOES ON TRIAL - See AL QAIDA, BALTIMORE CELL, WMD, CHEMICAL PLOT, MAJID KHAN) NEW YORK - A Pakistani man went on trial Wednesday on charges alleging he agreed to help an al-Qaida operative planning a chemical attack against Americans sneak into the United States. Uzair Paracha, 25, is accused of agreeing to support the plot during meetings with two al-Qaida operatives and his father [Saifullah Paracha], a businessman held at Guantanamo Bay.
"This trial is about the defendant's role in helping al-Qaida penetrate this country and attack the United States from within its own borders," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Bruce said in his opening statement. Bruce said Paracha was trying to help Majid Khan, an al-Qaida member who was granted U.S. asylum and living in Baltimore. Khan needed Paracha's help to return after leaving the country improperly to go to Pakistan, Bruce said.
The prosecutor said Paracha made deposits into a bank account in [Majid] Khan's name to make it appear he was in the U.S. and posed as Khan to try to obtain an immigration document. Khan and the other al-Qaida operative are presumed to be in U.S. custody overseas, though the U.S. government has refused to acknowledge it.
On Wednesday, Bruce repeatedly referred to a planned chemical attack by [Majid] Khan but never described the plot or when and where it would occur. Prosecutors have said Paracha admitted he believed that Khan was an al-Qaida operative and that by helping Khan he was assisting al-Qaida.
Paracha lawyer Edward Wilford told jurors Wednesday the government's claims stemmed from a false confession Paracha gave after he was subjected to 72 hours of interrogation without being told he could consult a lawyer. "At no point did Uzair Paracha agree to help al-Qaida do anything," Wilford said. ------- "Prosecutor: Pakistani sought to aid terror (NY trial)," by Larry Neumeister - ap, AP on Yahoo, 11/09/05
This bunch is also tied to the 'wanted' Dr. Alafia Siddiqui.
FOX NEWS.com: "U.S. RESIDENT AT GUANTANAMO CUTS DEAL, PLEADS GUILTY TO MURDER, TERROR PLOT" by Catherine Herridge (SNIPPET: "A former Baltimore resident who has been detained in Guantanamo Bay pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges against him, including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, spying and providing material support to al Qaeda. Majid Khan admitted that he was part of the successful plot to bomb the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indoneisa, in 2003, which killed 11 and injured 76.") (February 29, 2012) (Read More...)
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