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| California father and son linked al-Qaeda, arrested |
| 2005-06-08 |
| A father and son were in custody Wednesday after federal authorities arrested the U.S. citizens when the younger man allegedly confessed that he attended an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan to learn "how to kill Americans." Hamid Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, were arrested Sunday on charges of lying to federal agents and appeared in court Tuesday. According to prosecutors, Hamid Hayat trained with explosives and other weapons, using photographs of President Bush and other political leaders as targets. The Sacramento Bee reported his age as 22; the Los Angeles Times said he is 23. Umer Hayat was charged in the complaint with lying about his son's involvement and his own financing of the terror camp, which an affidavit released by prosecutors said was run by a close friend of Umer Hayat's father. Relatives denied the charges and Umer Hayat's attorney, Johnny Griffin III, called the allegations "shocking" but said his client "is charged with nothing more than lying to an agent." A female cousin of Hamid Hayat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times that "the charges are totally false." U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Nowinski denied a bail request for the elder Hayat, saying he was "a flight risk and a danger to the community." "He just returned from Pakistan where he built a new home and contributed financial assistance to an al-Qaida-sponsored program training his son and others to kill Americans whenever and wherever they can be found," the Bee quoted Nowinski as saying. Hamid Hayat's attorney was not present for the court hearing, and Nowinski set a bail hearing for him on Friday. Hamid Hayat's name was on the U.S. "no fly" list of suspected extremists, the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee reported, and on returning from Pakistan on May 29 his flight was diverted to Japan, where he was questioned. He was allowed to continue on, and was then questioned in Sacramento by FBI agents. After first denying any link to terrorist camps, Hayat reportedly failed some polygraph questions and then told agents that he attended al-Qaida camps in 2003 and 2004. "Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his jihadi mission," according to the affidavit. "Potential targets for attack would include hospitals and large food stores." The affidavit says Umer Hayat gave up denying that he knew of the terrorist training when he was shown a videotape of his son's confession. FBI agents raided the Hayat home on Tuesday, family members told the Times. They seized videocassettes, photographs, fax machines, prayer books and other items. One law enforcement official told the Times that "these guys have been on the radar for awhile," adding that "this case has more to it than just these two guys." In fact, two other men, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan, were being held on immigration violations after meeting separately with Umer Hayat on Saturday, the Bee reported. All four men live in Lodi, about 35 miles south of Sacramento. Umer Hayat wore a concealed FBI listening device for the meetings, one source told the Bee, an account confirmed by some of his relatives. Khan is an imam at the Lodi mosque and Ahmed is a religious leader affiliated with an Islamic center in Sacramento, the Bee and Times reported. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 :) |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-08 11:11 |
| #2 Remember, the family that slays together, stays together.... |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2005-06-08 10:38 |
| #1 Great, it's a family affair! I love to see fathers and sons spending time together on the weekends playing jihadi. |
| Posted by: Tkat 2005-06-08 09:13 |