Details of the prosecution case against a father-son pair of would-be domestic Islamist terrorists are surfacing, including satellite photos purported to show an al Queda training camp in Pakistan.
The government has satellite images of a suspected al-Qaida training camp that federal prosecutors claim was attended by a man on trial for terrorism-related charges, according to a prosecution brief.
Prosecutors had previously said they would seek to introduce images from Pakistan but had not publicly disclosed the nature of those photographs. The evidence is expected to be a key part of the government’s case against 23-year-old Hamid Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 48.
On Wednesday, a jury of six men and six women was seated for the trial of Hamid Hayat, who is charged with supporting terrorists by attending the camp in 2003 and 2004 and then lying about it to the FBI. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday.
The government also claims the son planned to attack hospitals and supermarkets after he returned to the U.S.
Umer Hayat is charged with lying to the FBI about his son’s attending the camp. His portion of the trial is to begin next week before a separate jury that was seated Tuesday.
Both deny the son attended the camp. In their brief, prosecutors did not offer any direct evidence that he did, such as photographs or witness accounts that place him there. Rather, their case centers on statements the men made to a confidential government informant in the U.S., the men’s purported videotaped confessions and the photographs they say show the actual camp.
The Pakistani government denied any of the camps exist. Prosecutors, however, said they have satellite images “of a location consistent in appearance with the militant training camp that Hamid Hayat ultimately confessed that he attended,” according to the 60-page trial brief filed Tuesday night.
The document outlines the government’s case against the father and son from Lodi, an agricultural community about 35 miles south of Sacramento. Both have been in custody since their arrests last June and have pleaded not guilty.
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Umer Hayat is charged with two counts of making false statements to FBI agents and faces eight years in prison if convicted. His son is charged with three counts of making false statements to the FBI about attending the camp and with providing material support to terrorists. If convicted, he faces up to 31 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the defense has concocted a stunning argument.
Defense attorneys have not offered an alibi to show that Hamid Hayat was anywhere other than where prosecutors say he was. But they contend the informant asked leading questions and that the FBI pressured the father and son to confess without a lawyer or interpreter present.
Damn those leading questions.
Mark my words — Islamist terror will assuredly come to our shores again. Thankfully, I’m pretty sure these two bastards won’t be involved.