NEW YORK – A former Pakistani-American student extradited from Britain was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for helping an al-Qaeda operative supply raincoats, ponchos and waterproof socks to militants in Afghanistan.
U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska said the stiff sentence to Syed Fahad Hashmi, 30, was intended to send a message to anyone tempted to join the network of al-Qaeda “sympathizers and facilitators.”
Before sentencing, a tearful Hashmi berated the United States for its treatment of Muslims in prisons, saying they were “held in captivity” like animals.
He also apologized to his family in an emotional statement rife with references to Allah and Islam. He said his faith had compelled him to help fellow Muslims like the operative, who later cooperated with the government.
The cooperator, Mohammed Junaid Babar, of New York, admitted in 2004 that he had traveled to Waziristan to supply cash and military equipment to the terror network.
Hashmi had pleaded guilty in April in federal court in Manhattan to charges he stashed away equipment for two weeks in 2004 in his apartment while studying in London. The al-Qaeda operative eventually gave the raincoats, ponchos and waterproof socks to a high-ranking al-Qaeda member.
Prosecutors had described the items as “military gear” in court filings.
“Mr. Hashmi knew exactly what he was doing and where that equipment stored in his apartment was going,” Judge Preska said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McGuire told the court that while Hashmi never had direct ties with al Qaeda, his “extreme jihad ideology” and the level of trust al-Qaeda supporters in London placed in him proved his willingness to harm Americans.
Hashmi was arrested at Heathrow Airport in Britain in June 2006 under an extradition request by U.S. authorities. He was brought to the United States in May 2007.