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| April 12, 2003 | Saturday | Safar 9, 1424 |
US judge orders release of two Pakistanis
SAN FRANCISCO, April 11: A US judge has ordered the release of two Pakistanis living in Denver whom the FBI described as potential terrorists eager to wage war against the United States.
After reviewing hours of the FBI testimony, US District Judge Lewis T. Babcock ruled that “the government has failed to establish” that either Irfan Kamran, 32, or Sajjad Naseer, 27, poses any danger to the state.
The judge also rejected the FBI suggestion that they would flee to Pakistan if released from jail.
He noted that much of the evidence that prosecutors cited in arguing that the defendants were involved with terrorism came from statements the two men made in voluntary interviews with the FBI.
The judge also expressed skepticism when the prosecution introduced information provided by “a confidential source”. When the judge asked if the source was reliable, an FBI witness replied that this, too, was classified information.
Neither Kamran nor Naseer has been charged with any offence related to terrorism. They were among six Denver residents indicted last month on the charge of harbouring an illegal immigrant. A federal magistrate released five of the six on bail. Federal prosecutors then asked that Kamran and Naseer be held in jail, citing the alleged links to terrorism.
“They dig up any charge they can think of to get these guys into court,” said David Lane, Naseer’s lawyer. “Then they haul out their unnamed sources and classified evidence and tell the judge that this is really a case of terrorism.” The attorney charged that the prosecution’s effort to deny bail amounted to discrimination based on national origin. “If Mr Naseer were Canadian,” Lane told the judge, “he would be out on bond now.”
The judge released Kamran on $30,000 bail, which the defendant had already posted. He released Naseer on $100,000 bail.
However, Naseer is being detained by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a separate charge, so he will not immediately go free.
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