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Federal judge orders cleric to leave country for lying to FBI about New York subway plot

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday ordered Imam Ahmad Afzali to leave the country within 90 days. Afzali pleaded guilty in March to lying to FBI agents in connection with the investigation of a plot to detonate explosives in the New York City subway system. Judge Frederic Block ordered electronic surveillance of Afzali until he leaves the country. Afzali will serve no prison sentence for the crime, but will be deported to Afghanistan if he does not comply with the order to leave the country voluntarily. Afzali's case stems from his role as a police informant in an investigation of Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty in February to terrorism charges for planning the subway attacks. Afzali has admitted to telling Zazi that the FBI was investigating him, but later denying the fact to the FBI. Also in February, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced superseding indictments against Adis Mendunjanin and Zaerein Ahmedzay, two other men accused of planning to bomb subways in New York City. Mendunjanin previously pleaded not guilty to similar charges.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 16, 2010 (boomark / email).