Devil Soul
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‘Khan Sent Thousands Of Dollars To Pak Terrorists’
US Imam Takes Stand, Denies Taleban Ties
MIAMI, Feb 20, (AP): An elderly Muslim cleric on trial in the US for allegedly funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the Pakistani Taleban terrorist organization vehemently denied any connection to Islamic extremists and insisted he does not harbor anti-US views.
Hafiz Khan, 77, on Tuesday rejected government charges that he sent at least $50,000 to the Taleban for use in violent attacks against both US and Pakistani interests overseas.
“We are innocent of these accusations,” said Khan, speaking in Pashto through an interpreter. “We have no connection with them whatsoever. We hate them.”
Khan, who became a US citizen after arriving in 1994, said he is proud to live in the country, is registered to vote and doesn’t even know how to fire a gun. The imam of a Miami mosque said he concentrates mainly on Islamic studies and teaching — something he feels utterly free to do in the US because of its guaranteed rights. “It is really a good thing to be a citizen of the United States,” Khan said.
The prosecution’s case is built largely on FBI wiretaps and recorded in-person conversations in which Khan is heard apparently praising attacks committed by the Pakistani Taleban, including some in which US personnel were killed. The Taleban is also linked to al-Qaida and to attempted attacks in the US, such as the failed 2010 bombing in New York’s bustling Times Square.
In some of those calls, Khan appears to be advocating the overthrow of Pakistan’s government, such as one in which he says that “God should turn the government upside down and let it be scattered completely.”
In testimony Tuesday, Khan said he was angered by the Pakistani army’s decision to temporarily shut down a religious school, or madrassa, that he owns in his ancestral Swat Valley. Khan said he was also upset by what he viewed as overly aggressive and violent army actions against dissidents and the poor in their 2009 campaign against the Taleban.
“There was no justice there,” he said. “The majority of the victims were innocent people, and there was no investigation.”
Khan took the stand after his lawyers abandoned an unusual attempt to have defense witnesses testify via video link from Islamabad. The link was shut down last week just a few minutes into the second witness, and US District Judge Robert Scola refused to allow any more delays.
Most of the witnesses either could not or would not come to the US to testify.
One witness who did testify said he handled some $30,000 of Khan’s transactions in Pakistan, insisting they were for innocent and business purposes not connected to the Taleban.
Khan was scheduled to continue testifying Tuesday and could face prosecution cross-examination as early as Wednesday.
US Imam Takes Stand, Denies Taleban Ties
MIAMI, Feb 20, (AP): An elderly Muslim cleric on trial in the US for allegedly funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the Pakistani Taleban terrorist organization vehemently denied any connection to Islamic extremists and insisted he does not harbor anti-US views.
Hafiz Khan, 77, on Tuesday rejected government charges that he sent at least $50,000 to the Taleban for use in violent attacks against both US and Pakistani interests overseas.
“We are innocent of these accusations,” said Khan, speaking in Pashto through an interpreter. “We have no connection with them whatsoever. We hate them.”
Khan, who became a US citizen after arriving in 1994, said he is proud to live in the country, is registered to vote and doesn’t even know how to fire a gun. The imam of a Miami mosque said he concentrates mainly on Islamic studies and teaching — something he feels utterly free to do in the US because of its guaranteed rights. “It is really a good thing to be a citizen of the United States,” Khan said.
The prosecution’s case is built largely on FBI wiretaps and recorded in-person conversations in which Khan is heard apparently praising attacks committed by the Pakistani Taleban, including some in which US personnel were killed. The Taleban is also linked to al-Qaida and to attempted attacks in the US, such as the failed 2010 bombing in New York’s bustling Times Square.
In some of those calls, Khan appears to be advocating the overthrow of Pakistan’s government, such as one in which he says that “God should turn the government upside down and let it be scattered completely.”
In testimony Tuesday, Khan said he was angered by the Pakistani army’s decision to temporarily shut down a religious school, or madrassa, that he owns in his ancestral Swat Valley. Khan said he was also upset by what he viewed as overly aggressive and violent army actions against dissidents and the poor in their 2009 campaign against the Taleban.
“There was no justice there,” he said. “The majority of the victims were innocent people, and there was no investigation.”
Khan took the stand after his lawyers abandoned an unusual attempt to have defense witnesses testify via video link from Islamabad. The link was shut down last week just a few minutes into the second witness, and US District Judge Robert Scola refused to allow any more delays.
Most of the witnesses either could not or would not come to the US to testify.
One witness who did testify said he handled some $30,000 of Khan’s transactions in Pakistan, insisting they were for innocent and business purposes not connected to the Taleban.
Khan was scheduled to continue testifying Tuesday and could face prosecution cross-examination as early as Wednesday.
