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Roswell man guilty in terrorism conspiracy
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ATLANTA – A Roswell man was found guilty in a terrorism conspiracy on June 10 for shooting video of symbolic and infrastructure targets for potential terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Capitol.
Syed Haris Ahmed, 24, was found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. He could receive a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, followed by a term of supervised release up to life, and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias and the evidence presented during the trial: Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan and raised in Marietta and Dawsonville, had in late 2004 and early 2005 conspired with others to provide material support to terror operations. Ahmed and his principal alleged co-conspirator sent the video clips to "jihadi brothers" abroad.
Ahmed and his co-conspirators were accused of using the Internet to develop relationships and maintain contact with each other and with others in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and elsewhere.
They traveled to Canada to meet with other co-conspirators and planned to travel to Pakistan in an attempt to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization. Ahmed's co-conspirator sent video clips to Younis Tsouli, a/k/a "Irhabi007" (Arabic for "Terrorist 007"), an Al Qaeda propagandist and recruiter in Iraq.
The video was also sent to Aabid Hussein Khan, a/k/a "Abu Umar," a facilitator for the Pakistan-based terrorist organizations "Lashkar-e-Tayyiba" and "Jaish-e-Mohammed." Both Tsouli and Khan have since been convicted of terrorism offenses in the United Kingdom.
Ahmed and his co-conspirators were accused of using the Internet to develop relationships and maintain contact with each other and with others in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and elsewhere.
In July 2005, he traveled from Atlanta to Pakistan in an unsuccessful attempt to enter a training camp and ultimately engage in violent jihad. After returning to Atlanta to resume his studies at Georgia Tech in August 2005, he conducted Internet research on topics such as high explosives and evading surveillance, and discussed his intent to make another attempt to enter a violent jihad training camp.
FBI agents approached him and he and agreed to a series of voluntary, non-custodial interviews over the course of eight days. The conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists did not result in any known acts of terrorism.
"This case has never been about an imminent threat to the United States, because in the post-9/11 world we will not wait to disrupt terrorism-related activity until a bomb is built and ready to explode," said Nahmias.
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