I've wondered why not too JDN...Here's a couple of Lodi articles: Terror probe exposes Muslim rift
By Don Thompson
The Associated Press
seattletimes.nwsource.com
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal authorities aren't saying much about their terrorism investigation in nearby Lodi but are making two things clear: Their work in the farming town has been going on for years — and it's not over.
They denied the implication by some members of Lodi's large Pakistani community that the investigation was triggered by a rift between fundamentalist and mainstream factions.
Each side accused the other of contacting the FBI. The dispute has led to a leadership struggle at the Lodi Muslim Mosque and a legal fight with a budding Islamic learning center.
"This specific investigation has been going on for several years," FBI spokesman John Cauthen said.
The FBI alleges several people committed to al-Qaida have been operating in and around the tranquil wine-growing region just south of Sacramento.
Investigators said Hamid Hayat, 22, trained with al-Qaida in Pakistan and planned to attack hospitals and supermarkets in the United States.
A Sacramento federal judge denied bail to Hayat yesterday, saying he had "a motive to flee and certainly the means to flee."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Nowinski also denied bail Tuesday to Hayat's father, Umer, 47.
Umer Hayat has said his son was drawn to jihadist training camps in his early teenage years while attending a religious school in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, operated by Umer Hayat's father-in-law, according to an FBI affidavit.
Umer Hayat allegedly paid for his son to attend the terrorist camp in 2003 and 2004.
The Hayats are charged only with lying to federal investigators.
Two Islamic religious leaders, or imams, and one leader's son also have been detained on immigration violations. Neither Cauthen nor a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would reveal specifics of the alleged visa violations.
Saad Ahmad, an attorney for the three men, did not return a telephone call.
The sequence that led to the arrests and detentions began May 29, when Hamid Hayat was trying to return to the United States but was identified in midflight as being on the federal "no-fly" list. His plane was diverted to Japan, where he was interviewed by the FBI and denied any connection to terrorism.
He was allowed to fly to California, but was interviewed again last weekend. He and his father were charged after he flunked a lie-detector test and then admitted attending the training camp, the affidavit said.
The Hayats and the imams are on opposite sides of a struggle between Pakistani factions in and around Lodi: The Hayats are aligned with a faction supporting more traditional Islamic values; the imams with another group are seeking greater cooperation and understanding from the larger community.
Adil Khan, one of those imams, was trying to start an Islamic center but has been sued by the Lodi Muslim Mosque, which claims he improperly transferred mosque property.
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And the NYT 15 hours ago from Google....
Bail Denied to Californian in Terror Case
nytimes.com
By CAROLYN MARSHALL
Published: June 11, 2005
SACRAMENTO, June 10 - A federal judge denied bail on Friday to an American man of Pakistani descent who is under investigation by federal law enforcement officials for possible terrorist connections with Al Qaeda.
Forum: National Security
The federal magistrate judge, Peter A. Nowinski, denied release based on the possible flight risk of the man, Hamid Hayat, 22, who was arrested along with his father this week after the authorities said he lied about attending what they believed was a Pakistani training camp affiliated with Al Qaeda.
"The charges are very serious," Judge Nowinski said during a brief hearing in Federal District Court in Sacramento. "Considering all the circumstances, there is a motive to flee and certainly the means to flee."
Mr. Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, both residents of the farming town of Lodi, about 40 miles south of Sacramento, were arrested Tuesday and charged with lying to federal investigators about a Pakistani camp that the son may have attended during a trip his father may have helped to finance. The father remains in jail.
The F.B.I. also filed an affidavit in federal court Tuesday that said Hamid Hayat told investigators that he had been trained "on how to kill Americans" at the Pakistani camp. The document also indicated that Mr. Hayat received weapons training and "photos of various high-ranking United States political figures, including President Bush, would be pasted on their targets."
During the hearing Friday, Mr. Hayat - slender, bearded and wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackled at the waist - said nothing as his lawyer argued that the defendant was neither a flight risk nor even in possession of a passport, which she said he had voluntarily turned over to the authorities.
After the hearing, Mr. Hayat's lawyer, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said, "Of course, I'm disappointed."
Ms. Mojaddidi said she believed her client to be innocent.
"I've met with my client a number of times, and I find him to be a warm, gentle kind person," she said.
She added that Mr. Hayat "is extremely devastated" by the charges and arrest.
The assistant United States attorney, R. Steven Lapham, declined to answer questions except to say the defendants would go through the system at the same time unless the defense asked for separate hearings.
Both men will appear in federal court again June 21, when their lawyers believe there will be a grand jury indictment.
During the bail hearing, Mr. Lapham described the defendant as an unemployable man with a sixth-grade education who has strong ties to Pakistan and had traveled there five to seven times recently. He said that Mr. Hayat recently married a woman in Pakistan and that the family was building a house there, all factors that led him to argue that the defendant was a flight risk.
"He has no significant ties to this community and could easily return to Pakistan," Mr. Lapham said. He told the court that the last time Mr. Hayat was there, "he learned to kill Americans."
Three other men also have been detained in connection with the case, including two imams, or religious clerics, affiliated with two Pakistani mosques in Lodi, which has a large Muslim community. The F.B.I. said it has been investigating certain members of the Muslim community there for three years, gathering evidence in connection with the case.
The lawyer for the older Mr. Hayat, Johnny L. Griffin III, suggested after the bail hearing Friday that the government had issued trumped-up charges, noting, "We believe they have been painted as engaging in terrorist conduct."
Mr. Griffin said there have been no criminal charges regarding any terrorist connections or activity.
"They are only charged with one thing," Mr. Griffin said, "and that one thing is making a false statement to the government."
Since the arrests Tuesday, federal authorities have come under harsh questioning over discrepancies in the affidavit filed in court and a copy of an early version of the affidavit that was released to news organizations. The unofficial version had references to terrorist threats to local shopping centers and hospitals in Lodi. The official copy had no such information.
Mr. Lapham said Friday that affidavits often went through several revisions before filing.
"An individual at the Department of Justice just made a mistake," he said.
John Cauthen, a special agent in Sacramento with the F.B.I., said the earlier affidavit was edited for accuracy and relevance. "One would have inferred that there was a specific threat," he said, adding, "that just wasn't the case." |
