WASHINGTON: A US judge has sentenced 24-year Jubair Ahmed, a Pakistan native, to 12 years in jail for providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The US Department of Justice, in a press release issued on Friday, said that Jubair Ahmed, a resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride said, “Jubair Ahmad was deeply committed to LeT’s violent aims, which he promoted through online propaganda, recruiting others, and fundraising for the terrorist organisation responsible for the deadly 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, which killed 160 people, including two Virginians.”
India and US blame the Pakistan based group LeT for the deadly November 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which 10 attackers rampaged through the financial hub of India, killing 160 people including six Americans. The US has designated the LeT as a terrorist organisation and had been banned in Pakistan as well.
The press release said that the 24-year old Pakistan-born Ahmed moved to the US in 2007 with his family after receiving a visa to the country. He was born and raised in Pakistan. Ahmed, who pleaded guilty in December 2011, said that in September 2010 he established contact with Talha Saeed, son of Hafiz Saeed, LeT’s head.
“Talha Saeed requested Ahmad to prepare a video that would contain a prayer by Hafiz Saeed calling for the support of jihad and the mujahideen. In addition, Talha Saeed instructed Ahmad to present a
variety of violent images on the video while Hafiz Saeed’s prayer is heard in the background,” said the press release.
In April, the US government issued a Rewards for Justice notice which announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Hafiz Saeed, who had founded the LeT but denies involvement with the Mumbai attacks.
Ahmed admitted that Talha Saeed asked him not to use anything in the video pertaining to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. “On September 25, 2010, Ahmad completed the LeT video and uploaded it to a YouTube account on the internet. The next day, Ahmad sent a communication to another person overseas in which he explained that “Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed” had requested him to prepare the video. Forensic examination by the FBI subsequently confirmed that Ahmad had constructed the LeT
video on his computer.”
The US Department of Justice also presented evidence that Jubair Ahmed conspired to recruit others “to attend LeT training camps, conspired to raise funds for LeT, and expressed his intention to return to Pakistan to complete the LeT commando training course and be launched on a martyrdom mission.”
“Mr Ahmad directly supported the mission of a designated terrorist organisation through his creation of online propaganda, fundraising, and recruitment efforts. He is now being held accountable for those
actions,” said the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Assistant Director in Charge James McJunkin in the press release. “The FBI will continue to pursue those who provide material support to terrorist groups,
whether online or in person, and ensure that they are brought to justice.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article carried a headline suggesting Jubair Ahmed had secured American citizenship. This is not clear from the DoJ press release. The error is regretted.
COMMENTS (14)
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LeT is a charity organization. USA is like Indian, Israel, west, a terrorist country
Where are the cowards, who always go berserk in defending Hafiz Sayed !! Where r u cowards? Defend him now you morons?
More venom from indians!!! oo bahi, as he has committed the offence, he has been sentenced.. why do you have to twist the story into something else...
@Harry Stone: "I am sure he would receive a hero's welcome in the land of the pure".
Exactly the reason he is not being deported!!!
5 years supervised release for rectification is properly sentenced, on completion of 12 years in prison. It is a pity that India has yet not been able to handle deadly Mumbai terror attackers.in which 156 Indians were killed.
Pakistani Courts have enough evidence to keep calling PM Gilani and Ambassador Hussain Haqqani to court frequently but there is no evidence to convict any terrorist including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Ilyas Kashmiri or Osama Bin Laden. Best Court in the World without doubt where Dictators can legally murder Democracy too.
days of Hafis Sayeed are numbered
Send him back to Pakistan after he finishes his jail sentence. Thats punishment enough.
Another reasonable evidence that not only Sayeed but also his family members are involved in violent jihad against everyone else including Pakistanis. People shouting from roof top for EVIDENCE?. You are better off by jumping off the roof top than howling for evidence.
In spite of Jubair Ahmed admitting his guilt and many other similar items of news, there is no proof that Hafiz Saeed and Talha Saeed have anything to do with the spread of terrorism. If you believe that then you must also believe that pigs are capable of flying!
Given the evidense, how come US only declared Mr Hafeez Saeed as wanted terrorist and also not his son , Talha Saeed, who is in the same business , as per the evidence produced in Virginia Court ? Do the authorities consider this evidense as 'literature' too ?
Professor of 'religious studies" , Mr Hafeez Saeed, is the leader and founder of LeT which has now morphed in JuD. Any support to LeT/JuD is considered a terrorist act by USA.
Where are the Pakistani nationalist who were shouting for proof! God save Pakistan if people are so much blinded. Just remember:
whoever kills a human, kill whole of humanity. (If you still support people who ask for jihad and killing of innocent people whether in US, India or Pak, then don't call yourself Muslim)
I do not understand why at the end of his sentence he is not going to be deported in the court decision. Even as it was not, the USGOVT can deport him upon his release. I am sure he would receive a hero;s welcome in the land of the pure.