Five American Students Face Terrorism Charges in Pakistan 2010-03-18 11:28
Source: NDTV
A Pakistani court has formally charged five young Americans with plotting terrorism in the country.
The students, in their 20s from the U.S. state of Virginia, were detained in December in the town of Sargodha, southeast of Islamabad, accused of contacting militants over the Internet and plotting attacks.
The charges also include raising funds for terrorist acts.
The students' defense lawyer said the men pleaded not guilty, describing the charges as "lies."
[Hasan Nazir Dastagir, Defense Lawyer]:
"After the framing of the charges, the judge is now going to ask the learned prosecutor to produce the witnesses. The Court may issue summons to the witnesses, or ask the Prosecutor to summon them himself so that they can come and give their evidence in the court."
Police say the men wanted to go to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and fight joint Afghan and Western forces in the country.
But the five men told the court they only wanted to provide fellow Muslims in Afghanistan with medical and financial help.
If convicted, the young men face possible life imprisonment.
The students, in their 20s from the U.S. state of Virginia, were detained in December in the town of Sargodha, southeast of Islamabad, accused of contacting militants over the Internet and plotting attacks.
The charges also include raising funds for terrorist acts.
The students' defense lawyer said the men pleaded not guilty, describing the charges as "lies."
[Hasan Nazir Dastagir, Defense Lawyer]:
"After the framing of the charges, the judge is now going to ask the learned prosecutor to produce the witnesses. The Court may issue summons to the witnesses, or ask the Prosecutor to summon them himself so that they can come and give their evidence in the court."
Police say the men wanted to go to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and fight joint Afghan and Western forces in the country.
But the five men told the court they only wanted to provide fellow Muslims in Afghanistan with medical and financial help.
If convicted, the young men face possible life imprisonment.
Comments