Pak origin American gets 15 yr term for logistical support to Al-Qaeda

NEW YORK - A local court here has sentenced a US civilian of Pakistani origin to 15-years of imprisonment for providing logistical support to Al-Qaeda.

According to a statement released by the Justice Department, Syed Hashmi, 30, who pleaded guilty in April to a charge of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to the terror network, received the maximum sentence under law from US District Chief Judge Loretta Preska.

Reacting to the court’s decision, US Attorney Preet Bharara said that the verdict has asserted that anybody assisting terror organisations would certainly be brought to justice.

“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,” The News quoted Bharara, as saying.

Hashmi, who is also know as Fahad, was arrested in June 2006, at Heathrow Airport, London, shortly before boarding a flight to Pakistan.

He was later transferred to the United States, becoming the first person extradited from Britain to the United States on terrorism charges.

Hashmi, was born in Pakistan and educated in New York, and was accused of letting a terrorism suspect stay in his student apartment in London and allowing the man to use his cell phone to call other suspects. (ANI)