Pakistan Convicts 5 Americans of Terrorism

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (June 24) -- A Pakistani court today convicted five U.S. men on terrorism charges in a speedy trial held behind closed doors.

A single judge at an anti-terrorism court in the northeastern city of Sargodha found all five defendants guilty of criminal conspiracy and of funding banned organizations for terrorism, and sentenced them each to two prison terms of 10 and five years, to be served concurrently. They were acquitted of three other charges, including planning to wage war on the U.S. and Afghanistan. Details were reported by several news agencies.

The men have been identified as Umar Farooq and Waqar Khan, both of Pakistani descent; Aman Hassan Yemer and Ahmed Minni, of Ethiopian descent; and Ramy Zamzam, of Egyptian descent. They range in age from 19 to 25 and claimed they had come to Pakistan to attend Farooq's wedding with the intention of crossing the border into Afghanistan to pursue humanitarian work.

But prosecutors argued that the evidence against them -- including e-mail records, witness testimony and maps of sensitive sites in Afghanistan they had in their possession -- clearly showed the men were preparing to carry out acts of terrorism.

The defendants showed no emotion and did not speak as the verdicts were read out. Their lawyers contend that the evidence against the men was extracted through torture, a charge both Pakistani and U.S. authorities deny.

The judgment comes only days after Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani who had gained U.S. citizenship in 2008, was convicted in New York of attempting to set off a crude car bomb in Times Square in May. Shahzad, who faces life in prison, also came to Pakistan for militant training.

The two cases, though unrelated, highlight the extent to which "homegrown" militants in the U.S. have become active in recent years. The five men convicted in Pakistan all hail from the Washington, D.C., area and, like Shahzad, had not previously raised any suspicions of militancy.

Their activity came to light only in November 2009, when family members reported them missing to the FBI after discovering a video Zamzam had made showing scenes of war and announcing that he intended to defend his Muslim brothers and sisters.

Their arrests, in December, came after the family tipped off the FBI to the men's location at a family home in Sargodha, 140 miles southeast of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

From there, according to prosecutors, the men had planned to travel to Afghanistan with the help of an al-Qaida intermediary identified as Saifullah, whom they had contacted via e-mail.

After the conviction, the father of one of the men insisted they were only going to Afghanistan to do charity work. "I will right away go to the high court," Khalid Farooq told The Associated Press, "even to the International Court of Justice, to get these innocent youths justice."

U.S. Embassy officials have remained silent throughout the trial. After the court's decision was announced, embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said only that the U.S. respects the decision of the court.

Concerns remain, however, over the standard of justice the men have received. The trial, held inside the jail where the men were kept, was closed to the media. Family members were denied access to the men, and the speed with which the verdict was handed down has surprised many.

The case put the U.S. in a sticky situation, balancing the protection of its citizens' rights overseas with its push for Pakistan to crack down on militants.

According to Pakistani legal experts commenting on the decision in the Pakistani media, the U.S. took an unusually hands-off stance in the case. In most instances of U.S. citizens arrested abroad, consular officials play an active role in ensuring they receive a fair trial.

In this case, the apparent non-involvement of the U.S. may play in the men's favor appeal.

Terrorism convictions have a history of being overturned on appeal in Pakistan. Hassan Dastghir, the men's lawyer, said after the conviction that he is "confident" he will win the case at the appeals level.