Convict’s relatives back in US

Published October 3, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 2: Two American citizens related to a California man who was convicted of supporting terrorists flew home from Pakistan on Sunday, five months after they were barred from returning to the United States for refusing an FBI interrogation, their attorney said.

Mohammad Ismail, 45, and his son, Jaber, 19, arrived at Kennedy airport in New York on Sunday afternoon, according to Julia Harumi Mass, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

The two are Hamid Hayat’s uncle and cousin.

Hayat, 23, was convicted in April of one count of providing material support to terrorists and three counts of lying about it to FBI agents. His father, Umer Hayat, was convicted of lying to investigators about the amount of cash he carried to Pakistan on a 2003 trip, but a jury deadlocked on terrorism charges.—AP

In April, the Ismails were barred from boarding a connecting flight to San Francisco from Hong Kong and returned to Pakistan. There, Jaber Ismail was questioned by FBI agents, but the two refused further interviews and a polygraph.

After complaining to the federal government, Mass received a letter last month from the Department of Homeland Security suggesting the two were cleared to fly.—AP

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