A 28-year-old Pakistani man, Abid Naseer, was convicted on
Wednesday in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn of supporting terrorism and
conspiring with Al Qaeda to bomb a shopping center in Manchester, England. The
conviction of this man is enhancing the developing understanding of where
current terrorists are coming from. Naseer was a middle-class student in
Britain who became involved with Al Qaeda gradually over time. He was described
as a well educated, charismatic man from a “wealthy” family. During the trial,
prosecutors stated that he had helped organize a plot to bomb the shopping
center in April of 2009 but was unsuccessful as he was arrested in Britain that
month. It is believed that Naseer had communication with his Qaeda handler via
email using code words such as “marriage” to refer to the plot, and using
women’s names for specific types of bombs. To defend himself on this
allegation, he stated that he was unsure of who he was communicating with, that
he was just discussing his love life with an internet friend, however at the
time of the email conversations he had broken up with his girlfriend so it was
very unlikely that he was planning a real wedding. Also, the email address that
he was contacting was the same one that Najibullah Zazi had written when he
pleaded guilty in participating in a Qaeda plot to bomb the New York City
subway system. Zazi claimed that the email address belonged to his handler and
that he had been told to use the code word “marriage” when talking about the
planned subway bombing; Mr. Naseer had no counter for the claim. Although he
grew up in Pakistan, as the Al Qaeda group was gaining status there, he claimed
that he had no opinion of them – seeming quite suspicious to the prosecutors.
In response to his rejection of representation by a court
appointed lawyer, Naseer told the jury “I wanted the people to hear my voice
and hear my story.” Representing himself, he was calm as he questioned
witnesses, and during two days of testifying on his own behalf, was logical and
focused. Lacking the legal training, he missed opportunities to highlight
problems with witnesses or evidence and to emphasize those flaws for the jury.
Mr. Naseer faces up to life in prison, as he listened to the verdict he gave no
visible reaction, simply rose and clasped his hands together blinding
frequently. James E. Neuman, his court-appointed legal adviser, claims that he
plans to appeal the verdict. The United States attorney for the Eastern
District of New York, Loretta E. Lynch, stated that the verdict should send a
“powerful message” to terrorists.
As I read this article, my question was how did the United
States convict this man who was from Pakistan and committing terror crimes in
Britain? The very last paragraph explains that he was indicted in the United
States in 2010, after being released after his 2009 arrest because of lack of
evidence from the British authorities. Apparently there’s a law that allows the
federal government to pursue terrorism cases even when they occur outside of
the country, and he was extradited here in 2013. I assume that because he was
in communication with the same Al Qaeda handler that Zazi was, and Zazi was
plotting within the United States, that’s why we wanted to capture Naseer as
well. Such an interesting piece, as well as the information that come’s with it!
Brittany Schrum
03/04/15
4:57
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