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US convicts Pakistani Taliban 'wannabe' on gun charge
 A Pakistani student that United States authorities said had ties to a terrorist plot to aid the Taliban was convicted on Tuesday on a gun charge. Shiraz Syed Qazi, 26, was found guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by an alien during a brief trial conducted by US District Judge Lee Rosenthal. Qazi waived his right to a jury trial."You an alien?" "Ummm... Yes, yer honor, but..." "Is that a gun?" "Ummm... Yes, yer honor, but..." "Guilty. Next case." Under federal law, a non-immigrant with a student visa, such as Qazi, is not permitted to hold firearms or ammunition. The charge stemmed from a 2005 camping trip outside Houston that Qazi made with three other men. In Texas? These dipshits were gonna wave guns at Texans? Authorities said that the trip was part of paramilitary training for the four men, all of whom are Muslim. Informants working for law enforcement authorities photographed the group firing and holding guns. Betcha they were firing from the hip and posing with their AKs while rolling their eyes and grimacing. Two of the men, Adnan Babar Mirza and Kobie Diallo Williams, were charged with conspiracy to join the Taliban and fight US forces. Mirza, a 29-year-old Pakistani who overstayed a student visa, is also charged with three counts of violating federal firearms laws. He is set to go to trial in June and faces from five to 10 years imprisonment for each charge. Williams, 33, a US citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 18. He faces up to five years in prison and a US $250,000 fine. The fourth man, Syed Maaz Shah, a 19-year-old Pakistani student at the University of Texas at Dallas, was also charged with possession of a firearm by an alien and is scheduled for trial in March. He faces up to 10 years in prison. More than 30 of Qazis family members and friends attended the trial, stressing that neither he nor the three others were aspiring Taliban fighters. Izzat Qazi, his older brother, said that the law enforcement informants had set up the four men. Posted by: Fred 2007-02-01 |
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