Bangladeshi-US man convicted on charges of trying to aid Taliban
File photo: Taliban forces patrolling in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on September 2, 2021 Reuters
Tribune Desk
Publish : 11 Oct 2021, 11:01 AMUpdate : 11 Oct 2021, 11:01 AM
Delowar Mohammed Hossain, a Bangladeshi American who was apprehended by US authorities as he was preparing to fly out to join the Taliban, has been found guilty of attempting to aid the terrorist organization that now governs Afghanistan.
On Friday, a federal jury in New York convicted him guilty of attempting to transfer finances, products, and services to the Taliban as well as providing support for terrorism, reports WION
Hossain, 36, immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh and is now a US citizen.
He was arrested in New York in 2019 as he was about to board a plane bound for Thailand on his way to Pakistan.
Officials submitted a report alleging that he planned to go to Thailand first rather than Pakistan to avoid raising suspicions about his whereabouts.
As the Covid-19 pandemic swept the country last year, a court authorized him to be detained at home.
The trial lasted roughly a week, and the jury, which is made up of ordinary persons who render decisions in the United States, found him guilty after two days of deliberation following the conclusion of testimony and arguments.
"The lure of radical ideologies comes from many sources," said William Sweeney, assistant director-in-charge of the FBI's New York office, at the time of his arrest. "Just because the Taliban may appear like an old and out of vogue extremist group, it shouldn't be underestimated."
As the United States withdrew its soldiers from Afghanistan, it grew powerful enough to seize control of the country.
According to a federal court complaint, Hossain tried to recruit an FBI "confidential source" to accompany him to Pakistan and pass into Afghanistan to join the Taliban.
The complaint said Hossain told the source that before he died, he wanted to "fight the American government and kill some kufars (non-believers)."
For his mission, he bought communication equipment and hiking gear, and he asked the source to save money so he could buy arms.
Since 2011, nearly 80 US citizens from 20 states have traveled abroad to fight with jihadist organizations, though most have gone to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS or al Qaeda.
Bangladeshi-US man convicted on charges of trying to aid Taliban
Delowar Mohammed Hossain, a Bangladeshi American who was apprehended by US authorities as he was preparing to fly out to join the Taliban, has been found guilty of attempting to aid the terrorist organization that now governs Afghanistan.
On Friday, a federal jury in New York convicted him guilty of attempting to transfer finances, products, and services to the Taliban as well as providing support for terrorism, reports WION
Hossain, 36, immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh and is now a US citizen.
He was arrested in New York in 2019 as he was about to board a plane bound for Thailand on his way to Pakistan.
Officials submitted a report alleging that he planned to go to Thailand first rather than Pakistan to avoid raising suspicions about his whereabouts.
As the Covid-19 pandemic swept the country last year, a court authorized him to be detained at home.
The trial lasted roughly a week, and the jury, which is made up of ordinary persons who render decisions in the United States, found him guilty after two days of deliberation following the conclusion of testimony and arguments.
"The lure of radical ideologies comes from many sources," said William Sweeney, assistant director-in-charge of the FBI's New York office, at the time of his arrest. "Just because the Taliban may appear like an old and out of vogue extremist group, it shouldn't be underestimated."
As the United States withdrew its soldiers from Afghanistan, it grew powerful enough to seize control of the country.
According to a federal court complaint, Hossain tried to recruit an FBI "confidential source" to accompany him to Pakistan and pass into Afghanistan to join the Taliban.
The complaint said Hossain told the source that before he died, he wanted to "fight the American government and kill some kufars (non-believers)."
For his mission, he bought communication equipment and hiking gear, and he asked the source to save money so he could buy arms.
Since 2011, nearly 80 US citizens from 20 states have traveled abroad to fight with jihadist organizations, though most have gone to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS or al Qaeda.