FBI, 9 June 2010: Syed Hashmi, aka. “Fahad,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today. On April 27, 2010, Hashmi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to al Qaeda. Hashmi’s 15-year sentence, imposed today in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska, is the maximum penalty allowed by law.
Hashmi, 30, was arrested on June 6, 2006, at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom, shortly before boarding a flight to Pakistan. He was later extradited to the United States; Hashmi was the first individual to be extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States on terrorism charges.
According to the superseding indictment and statements made during the guilty plea proceeding:
In 2004, Hashmi provided material support or resources to al Qaeda by helping to provide equipment to others who then transported the equipment to a senior al Qaeda military commander in South Waziristan, Pakistan. Hashmi provided the equipment with knowledge that it would be used by al Qaeda militants who were fighting against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Hashmi also provided money to a co-conspirator who planned to deliver some of the equipment by hand to the al Qaeda military commander in Pakistan.
U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the investigative work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which principally consists of special agents and detectives of the FBI and the New York City Police Department. He thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs. Mr. Bharara also expressed his gratitude to the British authorities and law enforcement community, including New Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service, for their cooperation in the investigation.
“Terrorist organizations like al Qaeda depend upon a wide array of individuals across the world to accomplish their violent objectives. This support network includes individuals like Syed Hashmi who embrace al Qaeda’s violent ideology and stand ready to translate ideology into action,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “Today, Hashmi was held accountable for his conduct, and his sentence makes clear that individuals who provide material support to al Qaeda will be brought to justice.”
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan R. McGuire and John M. Hillebrecht are in charge of the prosecution.
DOJ, 27 April 2010: Syed Hashmi, aka “Fahad,” pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, announced Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Hashmi, 30, was arrested on June 6, 2006 at Heathrow Airport in London, shortly before he was to board a flight to Pakistan. He was later extradited to the United States; Hashmi is the first individual to be extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States on terrorism charges.
According to the superseding indictment filed in Manhattan, New York federal court and statements made during the guilty plea proceeding:
From January 2004 through May 2006, Hashmi provided material support or resources to al Qaeda by helping to provide equipment to others who then transported the equipment to al Qaeda associates in South Waziristan, Pakistan. Hashmi provided the equipment with knowledge that it would be used by al Qaeda to fight against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Hashmi also provided money to a co-conspirator who planned to transport the equipment to al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Hashmi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, namely al Qaeda, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Hashmi is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska on June 7, 2010.
U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the investigative work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of special agents and detectives of the FBI and the New York City Police Department. Bharara thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs. Bharara also expressed his gratitude to the British authorities and law enforcement community, including New Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service, for their cooperation in the investigation.
U.S. Attorney Bharara said: “This afternoon, Syed Hashmi admitted that he knowingly provided material support to al Qaeda. Having admitted his guilt, he will now face justice for giving aid to terrorists he knew full-well were dedicated to harming Americans.”
This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan R. McGuire and John M. Hillebrecht are in charge of the prosecution.
AP, 27 April 2010: On the eve of his terrorism trial, an American student who studied in London admitted Tuesday that he helped a friend deliver some protective clothing to an al-Qaida military commander fighting Americans in Afghanistan. The plea by Syed Hashmi to a single count of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida was entered in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, averting a trial that was supposed to begin Wednesday. As part of a plea deal that will require prosecutors to drop three other terrorism charges at his June 7 sentencing, Hashmi agreed to serve 15 years in prison. He has already served four years, at least three of them in solitary confinement at a federal lockup in lower Manhattan. . . .
. . . . Hashmi, born in Karachi, Pakistan, was raised in Flushing, Queens. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science from Brooklyn College before moving to London in 2003 to study at London Metropolitan University, where he got a master’s degree in international relations in 2006. . . . . Prosecutors had planned at his trial to show jurors an excerpt of a five-minute videotape that they say shows Hashmi leading a June 2002 protest in Manhattan by an Islamic fundamentalist organization whose members support al-Qaida and seek the overthrow of Western society. The government said Hashmi, among other things, said “Bin Laden is not a terrorist.” . . . .
. . . . On Tuesday, the bearded Hashmi in his prison blue uniform and white skull cap smiled as he entered the courtroom. He displayed his religious enthusiasm several times when he answered questions from Judge Loretta A. Preska. “By the grace of Allah, yes,” he said as he answered one question. “All praise to Allah, no,” he said in answer to another, his hands folded before him. . . .
♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 362–Informant Development for Law Enforcement to Fight Terrorism
