Sargodha, June 24: A Pakistan court convicted five American men on terror charges Thursday and sentenced each to 10 years in prison.
The five young Muslims from the Washington, D.C., area, were arrested in Pakistan in December after their families reported them missing. The case is one of several involving alleged “homegrown” American militants linked to Pakistan, but the only one being tried in a Pakistani court.
Prosecutors said they presented evidence such as e-mail records and witness statements proving that the men were plotting terror attacks in Pakistan and conspired to wage war against nations allied with it, a reference to Afghanistan, where the men were alleged to have been traveling.
The judge handed down two prison terms for each man, one for 10 years and the other for five, which are to be served concurrently, a copy of the decision seen by The Associated Press said.
The trial was closed to journalists and observers and was heard by a single judge in a special anti-terrorism court. Police deployed extra patrols and barriers around the court in the Punjab province town of Sargodha before the verdict.
A Pakistani government prosecutor says he has presented evidence in court that shows contacts between five detained Americans with an Al Qaeda linked militant leader.
The men have been identified as Ramy Zamzam of Egyptian descent, Waqar Khan and Umar Farooq of Pakistani descent, and Aman Hassan Yemer and Ahmed Minni of Ethiopian descent. One allegedly left behind a farewell video in the United States showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended.
Deputy Prosecutor Rana Bakhtiar said the men have the right to appeal the convictions, and that he also plans to seek longer prison sentences for them. The men’s defense attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.
U.S. officials have said little about the trial. Washington is trying to counter anti-American sentiment in Pakistan’s government, security forces and media, but is also pressing Islamabad to crack down hard on militancy.
——–Agencies