Washington:
A young Pakistani national living in a suburb of the US Capital has pleaded guilty to providing material support to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba by making a propaganda video and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Sialkot-born Jubair Ahmad, 24, made and uploaded the video at the direction of his LeT handler in Pakistan, Talha Saeed who is the son of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the commander of the Pakistan based militant group, with the purpose of propagating jihad, federal prosecutors said.
"Yes, I do plead guilty," Ahmad said before a Virginia court late yesterday. He now faces a maximum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment, USD 250,000 in fine, three years of supervised release and deportation to his country. His sentencing is scheduled on April 13, 2012. "Foreign terrorist organisations such as LeT use the internet as part of well-orchestrated propaganda campaigns to radicalise and recruit individuals to wage violent jihad and to promote the spread of terror," said US Attorney Neil H MacBride.
The conviction of Jubair Ahmad "demonstrates that we will aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who provides material support to a terrorist organisation in whatever form it takes," he said.
"By preparing and posting a graphic video that glorified violent extremism, Ahmad directly supported the mission of a designated terrorist organisation," said James W McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of FBI's Washington Field Office. Appearing before the court, in a dark green jumpsuit, with prisoner written in his back, Ahmed, admitted that in September 2010, while at his residence in Woodbridge, Virginia, he engaged in a series of communications Talha Saeed, in Pakistan.