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November 23, 2005
US: Islamist From Pakistan Convicted For Aiding Al-Qaeda
A 25 year old Pakistan national, Uzair Paracha, has been found guilty of supporting an al-Qaeda plot to attack the United States, states the Sydney Morning Herald. He was found guilty of all five counts made against him, which included conspiracy and giving material support to al-Qaeda, as well as identification fraud and receiving funds to be used for the benefit of al-Qaeda..
A pdf download of his US indictment can be obtained by clicking here.
Paracha has claimed that he was innocent, and had given a false confession because he had been interrogated for three days by the FBI, but jurors convicted him. He had been arrested on March 28, 2003, less than two months after he arrived in the US, and taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Manhattan. He had been working in an office in Manhattan ostensibly selling real estate to Us migrants from Pakistan.
A CNN report from 6 August 2003 states that information which led to Paracha's arrest came from Khalid Shaikh Mohamed (pictured right), the alleged 9/11 mastermind in US custody.
A website declaring his innocence claims that his father Saifullah is a "successful businessman and prominent social activist", but in the trial prosecutors claimed that Paracha and his father had meetings with al-Qaeda members Majid Khan and Ammar al-Baluchi. It was planned for Paracha to send travel documents to Khan from the US and to hold $200,000 in al-Qaeda funds.
Khan and al-Baluchi are believed to be in US custody at an undisclosed location. Saifullah Paracha is currently in Guantanamo Bay, held as an "enemy combatant". He had been arrested on July 5 2003 at the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, and had subsequently been handed to the US.
The charges for which Paracha has been convicted all carry a maximum sentence of 15 years. A date for sentencing has not yet been set. After the verdicts one of his lawyers, Anthony Ricco, said Paracha was "hurt" and disappointed at the result.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 23, 2005 11:46 PM
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