Former NY student gets 15-years for aiding al Qaeda

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Former NY student gets 15-years for aiding al Qaeda

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10 June,2010 08:36 am

A former New York resident was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday for helping a friend send waterproof socks, ponchos and sleeping bags to al Qaeda militants in Pakistan.Syed Fahad Hashmi, 30, a Pakistani-born US citizen, pleaded guilty in April to one count of material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda. As part of a deal with U.S. prosecutors, Hashmi admitted that between January 2004 and May 2006, he helped Mohammed Junaid Babar, a friend from the New York City borough of Queens, transport the equipment to militants in Pakistan to use while fighting US forces in Afghanistan. Hashmi lent Babar $300 and stored the materials in his London apartment, prosecutors said. US District Judge Loretta Preska said on Wednesday that Hashmi had been a knowing and willing al Qaeda supporter and because of his US citizenship represented a unique threat. Sean Maher, one of Hashmi's defense attorneys, stated that the sentencing was negotiated and agreed upon by the government and the defense. Hashmi was arrested at Heathrow Airport in Britain in June 2006 under an extradition request by US authorities. He was brought to the United States in May 2007. At times defiant and choked with tears, Hashmi addressed the court on Wednesday for 20 minutes, reading from hand- scribbled notes. He attributed his many, many mistakes to a misunderstanding of Islam and being manipulated by others. I did it when I was ignorant of Allah and his message, said Hashmi, dressed in a white tunic, gray cardigan and prayer cap. Muslims cannot wage war against non-Muslims in their host country. He concluded, Yes I was wrong in helping my brothers the noble mujahideen, but they will always be in my prayers. He also berated the United States for its treatment of Muslims in prisons, saying they were held in captivity like animals.