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Pakistani sought to aid in terrorist attack
A Pakistani man went on trial Wednesday on charges alleging he agreed to help an al-Qaida operative planning a chemical attack against Americans sneak into the United States.Uzair Paracha, 25, is accused of agreeing to support the plot during meetings with two al-Qaida operatives and his father, a businessman held at Guantanamo Bay. "This trial is about the defendant's role in helping al-Qaida penetrate this country and attack the United States from within its own borders," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Bruce said in his opening statement. Bruce said Paracha was trying to help Majid Khan, an al-Qaida member who was granted U.S. asylum and living in Baltimore. Khan needed Paracha's help to return after leaving the country improperly to go to Pakistan, Bruce said. The prosecutor said Paracha made deposits into a bank account in Khan's name to make it appear he was in the U.S. and posed as Khan to try to obtain an immigration document. Khan and the other al-Qaida operative are presumed to be in U.S. custody overseas, though the U.S. government has refused to acknowledge it. On Wednesday, Bruce repeatedly referred to a planned chemical attack by Khan but never described the plot or when and where it would occur. Prosecutors have said Paracha admitted he believed that Khan was an al-Qaida operative and that by helping Khan he was assisting al-Qaida. Paracha lawyer Edward Wilford told jurors Wednesday the government's claims stemmed from a false confession Paracha gave after he was subjected to 72 hours of interrogation without being told he could consult a lawyer. "At no point did Uzair Paracha agree to help al-Qaida do anything," Wilford said. Paracha was arrested in March 2003 and charged with conspiring to support al-Qaida, conspiring to violate laws barring economic support for al-Qaida and committing identification document fraud in aid of terrorism. If convicted of all charges, he could face up to 75 years in prison. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-11-10 |
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