|
California imam in terror probe regrets anti-US talk
 A California imam arrested as part of a terrorism probe told an immigration judge on Friday he regretted making angry speeches against the US invasion of Afghanistan and no longer held a negative view of the United States. Appearing at an immigration hearing in San Francisco and speaking through an Urdu-speaking translator, Shabbir Ahmed said his speeches in his native Pakistan in late 2001 were emotional outbursts and his opinion of the United States had turned positive since moving to Lodi, California, in 2002 to take up duties as an imam at a local mosque. âMy mind changed,â Ahmed said at the bond hearing. âI think there is justice here,â he added, noting he had been treated respectfully in jail. Ahmed is one of three Lodi men arrested earlier this month amid an FBI probe into suspected Al Qaeda links. Ahmed has been charged with overstaying his visa, but the US prosecutor pressing a deportation case against him made clear during the hearing that the federal government believed his religious training in Pakistan brought him into contact with Taliban sympathisers. A grand jury last week indicted Pakistan-born Umer Hayat and his son Hamid Hayat, both of Lodi, with lying to the FBI. The indictment charged Hamid Hayat with one count of falsely stating he was not involved with a terrorist organization and another count of lying about attending terrorist or jihadist training camps. Posted by: Fred 2005-06-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=122531 |