US Terror Suspect Zazi Pleads Not Guilty
By VOA News
29 September 2009
An Afghan-born terror suspect, Najibullah Zazi, has pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court to charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
The lawyer for Zazi, J. Michael Dowling, entered the plea on his behalf Tuesday, saying the government has yet to prove evidence of a conspiracy. He cautioned the public not to rush to judgment against his client.
Zazi is due back in court in December.
Prosecutors have accused Zazi of conspiring to use homemade bombs against unspecified targets in the United States. Law enforcement officials have said the plot may have involved New York City's mass transit system.
Investigators say they know the identities of at least three of Zazi's associates but have not released information about them.
Zazi was transferred Friday to New York from Colorado, where he was detained September 19.
Prosecutors say Zazi spent more than a year plotting the attack on the United States with co-conspirators.
A federal grand jury in New York indicted the 24-year-old last week. The U.S. government says Zazi received bomb-making instructions in Pakistan in 2008. It also says he bought components to build improvised explosive devices and traveled to New York City on September 10, 2009, to move forward with his plans.
If convicted, Zazi faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He has denied any links to terrorism.
Zazi is a legal permanent resident of the United States. He was detained on charges of lying to counter-terrorism investigators.
The suspect was born in Afghanistan and moved to Pakistan as a boy before relocating to the United States with his family about 10 years ago.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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