September 11, 2007

California Jihadi Gets 24 Years

The first of the California jihadis to get convicted on terrorism charges received a 24-year sentence yesterday. Hamid Hayat traveled to Pakistan to learn terrorism in al-Qaeda training camps in order to kill Americans, and it turned into a family business:

A California man convicted last year of aiding terrorists and lying to the F.B.I. was sentenced on Monday to 24 years in prison.

The man, Hamid Hayat, an American citizen of Pakistani descent, was solemn and attentive in court on what was his 25th birthday. He showed little reaction as an assistant translated the proceedings and stern words of Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. of Federal District Court into Urdu.

“Hamid Hayat attended a terrorist training camp,” Judge Burrell said, “and returned to the United States, ready and willing to wage violent jihad when directed to do so, regardless of the havoc such acts could wreak on persons and property in the United States, and then lied to the F.B.I. on three separate occasions.”

We first heard about this case in June 2005, when Hayat and his father got arrested in Lodi along with two other members of their mosque. Hayat got nabbed on a flight to Pakistan, which the FBI had diverted to Japan. At that time, Hayat reportedly confessed that he wanted to hit hospitals and food processing plants -- and that he wanted to maximize casualties among American civilians.

That's apparently changed. Now Hayat's lawyers insist that the 25-year-old has no connections to terrorism. Despite the report on Hayat's lack of reaction to the sentencing, the attorneys also insist that their client was very upset by the news. It seems as though Hayat's attorneys have to work spin more than defense.

CAIR has its concerns in the right place. Instead of congratulating the FBI and the government on keeping the nation safe through successful prosecutions such as these, they called for Muslims to avoid talking with the FBI without an attorney present. No doubt that's good advice for people under suspicion of terrorism, but perhaps it would have been better for Hayat to avoid lying to FBI agents in the first place. He didn't need an attorney to tell him that lying would get him in trouble -- and why would he have lied in the first place?

Next up will by Umer Hayat, Hamid's father, and the rest of the Lodi Four.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/tabhacht.cgi/12854

Comments (6)

Posted by Papa Ray | September 11, 2007 7:20 AM

"He didn't need an attorney to tell him lying would get him in trouble."

He is allowed to lie to infidels, in fact Muslims are encouraged and commanded to lie to them by the Qur'an.

He was only following "The Book" like all Muslims should.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

Posted by hunter | September 11, 2007 7:41 AM

Of course CAIR is going to defend terrorists, advise them on how to avoid detection and arrest and to resist America. That is CAIR's job.
And kudos out tothe Bush Administration for having the guts to act against terrorists and to disrupt their plans.

Posted by j | September 11, 2007 8:18 AM

Papa Ray is correct - Muslims can lie to non-Muslims but cannot lie to each other. (Of course, this "truth to Muslims" is not practiced by their Imams but...")

The other interesting data point is that Muslims cannot enslave other Muslims so they enslave non-Muslims. They also "converted" some Africans so these Africans would then enslave other Africans for the Muslim slave trade.

The term "double standard" takes on an entire new meaning with too many Muslims. Even in conversation, you never know who's telling the truth.

Posted by Cornellian | September 11, 2007 9:30 AM

Hey Papa Ray has an interesting point - maybe the guy can argue that punishing him for lying is a violation of the Free Exercise Clause.

Posted by NahnCee | September 11, 2007 12:30 PM

Didn't Pappa Hamat get his arrest thrown out of court, or acquitted or something already? If I'm remembering correctly, Pappa Hamat didn't actually go overseas, and all he did was lie to the FBI to try to cover for his dimbulb kid. And maybe there were some quotations cited of him trash-talking America, but I don't think the case against him was nearly as fierce as it was against Kid Wannabe Mujahadeen.

Posted by pk | September 11, 2007 2:47 PM

this guy probably figures that he will get released when his buddies pull off a political kidnapping of some politicians grand daughter.

most of these guys seem to get their law degrees from the hollywood school of law and bs.

C

Post a comment