WASHINGTON, July 2: A US federal judge granted on Wednesday government’s request to delay the release of a man accused of links to Lashkar-i-Taiba, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US government.

On Monday, another judge had ordered his release after the defence lawyer argued that the accused, Masoud Ahmad Khan, “is a peaceful family man with no criminal past.”

District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of Alexandria, Virginia, is now hearing a government appeal to determine whether Mr Khan should stay in custody during the trial.

Mr Khan and 10 other Washington area Muslims were charged last week with being part of a “Virginia Jihad network” that allegedly trained to fight for Muslim causes abroad. Authorities had said that the men posed no threat to the United States but they were plotting attacks against a friendly country, India.

In a 12-page motion submitted on Tuesday by US Attorney Paul J. McNulty, prosecutors claimed that Mr Khan went to Pakistan to train with a terrorist group after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks and could easily flee before trial because he was facing life in prison if convicted.

He is also a “substantial threat to the community,” they claimed.

Defence attorney Danny C. Onorato said Mr Khan, 31, a devout Muslim, worked as a kitchen designer and had lived at the same Gaithersburg townhouse for 10 years. He is married and has a 6-month-old son.

“Mr Khan is just like every other American citizen, he is not an extremist, and he is not a terrorist,” Mr Onorato said.

Judge Jones’ order to release Mr Khan was described by the US media as an unusual rebuke to the law enforcers. Legal experts pointed out that few terrorism defenders had been released, with or without bail, since the post-9/11 crackdown on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Judge Jones said he took into account Mr Khan’s lack of criminal record and “substantial ties to the community” in addition to “the nature of the offences charged.” He observed that Mr Khan “has no criminal record and doesn’t appear to be a risk to the community.”

However, the judge ordered that Mr Khan, who lives in a Maryland suburb, be electronically monitored. This would allow FBI agents to attach an electronic monitoring device to the suspect who will have to wear it all the time.

Mr Khan’s defence lawyer Danny C. Onorato said he intended to investigate if his client was arrested on trumped up charges.