A dual nationality American student, who was the first person extradited to the United States by Britain on terrorism charges, was refused bail on Friday by a federal judge and ordered to remain in custody.Syed Hashmi, 27, was studying in London when he was arrested in 2006 and last week extradited to New York on charges of supporting Al Qaeda including storing ponchos, raincoats and waterproof socks in his London apartment for military use by Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
US District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Hashmi, who was born in Pakistan and raised in New York, to be detained on the grounds he might flee to Pakistan if released. Hashmi pleaded not guilty to all charges, which could imprison him for a maximum of 50 years if he is convicted. Although most of the case against Hashmi occurred in Britain, under US law any American citizen suspected of supporting terrorism abroad may be charged here.
During the hearing, defence lawyer Sean Maher argued that the government’s case against Hashmi was weak. He said the military gear Hashmi stored in his apartment for three days belonged to his former friend Mohammed Junaid Babar. But prosecutors told the judge the case against Hashmi was “extremely serious”. They said Hashmi had been a member of the Al Muhajiroun, a defunct British-based Islamic extremist group.
The prosecutors said Hashmi approved the storage of Babar’s gear despite knowing that he was supplying it and money to Al Qaeda’s military activities leader in Afghanistan, Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi. In a statement outside the courtroom, Maher described his client as a peace-loving academic who was being targeted for participating in political protests against the US government. Maher asked, “If the case against him is so strong, why didn’t the British authorities charge him?”
Babar the main informant in the case is cooperating with the government after pleading guilty here in 2004 to smuggling money and military supplies to Al Qaeda. He also testified as an informant against five Britons convicted in London in April of plotting to bomb targets such as nightclubs and trains.