Washington: A Pakistani born United States national has received 23-year prison on Monday after he was found guilty for supporting Al-Qaeda in a bomb terror plot at Washington Subway System.
US security officials arrested Farooque Ahmed, 35 in October in a government sting operation for conducting surveillance at subway stops and suggesting where to place explosives.
Ahmed, who moved to the US in 1993, was found guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda and one count of collecting information to assist in the planning of a terrorist attack on a transit facility, the US Justice Department said.
Ahmed, who previously pleaded not guilty, changed his plea during a federal court hearing in Alexandria, Virginia.
US officials said, prosecutors dropped one count against Ahmed and agreed to the 23-year prison term,. He had previously faced up to 50 years in prison.
The officials said the public was never in any kind of danger and Ahmed’s activities were closely monitored during the six-month sting operation in which government agents posed as al Qaeda operatives.
The officials said the public was never in any kind of danger and Ahmed’s activities were closely monitored during the six-month sting operation in which government agents posed as al Qaeda operatives.
After his arrest, the FBI said Ahmed had told undercover agents that he had trained himself to use firearms in hopes of fighting US soldiers in Afghanistan.
US Justice Department and FBI have been facing criticism since for such sting operations September 11, 2001 attack and questions over whether the suspects have been unfairly targeted and lured into plots.
The department officials have defended them as legal and termed it an important way to prevent another attack on US soil.
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