SACRAMENTO, Feb 15: A father and son charged with lying about the younger man attending a terror training camp in Pakistan went on trial, with potential jurors questioned about terrorism and whether they knew anyone who died during the Sept 2001 attacks.
Umer Hayat, 48, and his 23-year-old son, Hamid, have been in custody since their arrest in June, shortly after the son returned to the US after nearly two years in Pakistan. Prosecutors allege Hamid Hayat was planning to attack hospitals and supermarkets.
The Hayats _ whose first day on trial was Tuesday _ are the only people charged criminally in a federal investigation of the Pakistani community in Lodi, an agricultural town 55kms south of Sacramento.
They are being tried together but before separate juries because their statements to investigators purportedly incriminate each other in lying to the FBI.
Umer Hayat, an ice cream vendor, is charged with two counts of making false statements to FBI agents and faces eight years in prison if convicted.
His son is charged with three counts of making false statements to the FBI about attending the camp and with providing material support to terrorists. If convicted, he faces up to 31 years in prison. Potential jurors were called from throughout an extensive region stretching from the Oregon border to Bakersfield.
The questionnaire asked if they lost anyone in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, speak any of six Middle and Far Eastern languages, have any prejudices against Muslims or Pakistanis or believe Islam endorses violence to a greater extent than other major religions.—AP
