nationalsecuritylaw United States v. Imam (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2011) (superseding indictment in Najibullah Zazi case)

* United States v. Imam (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2011) (superseding indictment in case involving Najibullah Zazi)

A superseding indictment today relating to the Najibullah Zazi conspiracy case (Zazi himself pled guilty back in February 2010, and one co-defendant also pled in 2010). The new indictment charged a Canadian citizen, Ferid Imam, with a variety of offenses related to the plot. The indictment is attached, and excerpts from the press release appear below:

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A superseding indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn federal court yesterday charging Ferid Imam, 30, aka “Yousef,” with providing and conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda; aiding and abetting the terrorist training of Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin; and using a destructive device in furtherance of crimes of violence.

The indictment was unsealed in coordination with Canadian authorities, who earlier today announced terrorism charges against Imam, who is a Canadian citizen.

According to the indictment in the Eastern District of New York, Imam aided and abetted Zazi, Ahmedzay and Medunjanin’s receipt of military-type training from al-Qaeda when the three men traveled to Pakistan in 2008. Zazi, Ahmedzay and Medunjanin subsequently returned to the United States to carry out a plot to detonate improvised explosive devices on behalf of al-Qaeda.

This plot was uncovered and disrupted by law enforcement authorities in September 2009. Zazi pleaded guilty to his role in the plot on Feb. 22, 2010, while Ahmedzay similarly pleaded guilty on April 23, 2010.

If convicted of the crimes in the indictment, Imam faces between 30 years in prison and life in prison.

…

Ferid Imam et al Unsealed Indictment EDNY.pdf

By Robert M. Chesney

Robert M. Chesney is Charles I. Francis Professor in Law at UT-Austin School of Law. Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.

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