Legal News

Alleged terrorist sympathizer may have all charges dropped

By Richard Binder

Federal prosecutors in Santa Ana have asked U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney to dismiss perjury and naturalization-fraud charges against Ahmadulla Sais Niazi, a Tustin man alleged to be a terrorist sympathizer.

Prosecutors alleged in 2009, when Niazi was taken into custody, that he lied on his applications for citizenship, leaving out his ties to Amin al-Haq, suspected to be the security coordinator for Osama bin Laden. Court documents also showed that Niazi had been under FBI surveillance since 2006. 

Federal public defender Chase Scolnick argued that Niazi was targeted by FBI agents after refusing to become an informant himself.

This week, Assistant United States Attorney Patrick R. Fitzgerald filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Niazi. The declaration refers to "[e]videntiary issues, including the unavailability of an overseas witness."

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on October 01, 2010 (boomark / email).