Syed Haris Ahmed (born 1984) is a naturalized

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

citizen born in Pakistan who was convicted on June 9, 2009, of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism in the United States and abroad.Ex-Tech student found guilty on terrorism charge
''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', June 10, 2009 His trial was a

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (Roman, Islamic) use bench ...

. He was sentenced in 2009 to 13 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release. At the time of his arrest (on March 23, 2006), he was an undergraduate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in mechanical engineering.

Life

Ahmed's family immigrated from Pakistan to the United States when he was about 12 years old, settling in the

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

area. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003. His father, Syed Riaz Ahmed, is a faculty member at

North Georgia College & State University The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College ...

Arrest

In March 2005, Ahmed traveled along with Ehsanul Islam Sadequee to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

aboard a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

bus to meet with

Fahim Ahmad Fahim Ahmad (born August 10, 1984) is one of 11 people convicted in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case. He was a ringleader in the group. He was 21 years old at the time of arrest, and married with two children. Life Fahim Ahmad was born in Afghanista ...

Jahmaal James Jahmaal James is one of 17 people detained on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He and the others arrested are alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in souther ...

and another youth CBC
Among the Believers; Timeline
/ref> with whom they had spoken online about their mutual interpretation of Islam and

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

Canada: The Cell Next Door
January 30, 2007 Although the five had discussed hypothetical scenarios in which North America would be attacked, government documents noted there was "no imminent danger". Police informant

Mubin Shaikh Mubin Shaikh is a former security intelligence and counter terrorism operative, currently a Professor of Public Safety at Seneca College and also Counter Extremism Specialist for the U.S.-based NGO, Parents for Peace. He rose to prominence in his ...

later stated that he believed the two Americans had been asking whether they would be able to hide in Canada if they were to carry out attacks in the United States. Witnesses later testified that Sadequee and Ahmed might have been inspired by a 2005 film, ''

Paradise Now ''Paradise Now'' ( ar, الجنّة الآن, al-Janna al-ʾāna) is a political and psychological drama film directed by Hany Abu-Assad about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Israel. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best ...

'', about two Palestinian friends being trained to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel.FBI: Film plot vexed terror suspect
''

'', March 22, 2008 Ahmed was further alleged to have traveled to Pakistan in late 2005 in an attempt to meet with members of the terrorist organization,

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

. On March 23, 2006, Ahmed and Sadequee were arrested after recording so called "casing

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

" of "significant commercial buildings". They were charged with providing material support to a terrorist group,FBI, 2006-04-20 and pleaded not guilty. After several men were arrested in Toronto in June 2006 on charges of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, Ahmed and Sadequee were identified as a co-conspirators and both were indicted on July 19, 2006 (this indictment superseding the original one) for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to provide support to a designated foreign terrorist organization,

("Army of the Righteous"). Initially, all documents in the case were sealed at the joint request of the government and the defense, but the indictment was later unsealed at the government's request. During five interviews in March, 2006, Ahmed made a number of self-incriminating statements. Ahmed also led the agents who interviewed him to his parents' home and surrendered the camera that was used for the recordings.Ruling boosts terror case
''

'', August 20, 2008 At the bail hearing for Sadequee, prosecutors alleged that Ahmed and Sadequee traveled to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to make "casing videos" of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

building, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, a

Masonic temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

, and a fuel depot, and that Sadequee then sent the video to now-imprisoned London propagandist Younis Tsouli, better known by his online pseudonym Irhabi007 ("terrorist 007"). Tsouli later confirmed that the pair were the source of the recordings. In August, 2008, US Magistrate Gerrilyn Brill ruled Ahmed's interrogation statements admissible for trial despite defense assertions that the statements were the result of coercion and deception. Brill wrote that Ahmed was "intelligent and had been interviewed by law enforcement twice before", and, therefore, "there is nothing . . . to suggest that his will was critically affected by the agents' various appeals to his Muslim beliefs and there is nothing inherently coercive about such tactics." Although Ahmed had referred to the videos and the discussions with other Muslims as "stupid", he had admitted to the interviewing agents that the recordings could have been used in planning terrorist acts. Ahmed and Sadequee were reindicted by a federal grand jury in December, 2008. Both men were again charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, including trying to join

in 2005. According to the new indictment, the videos were passed to another convicted British terrorist, Aabid Hussain Khan, on whose computer they were found subsequent to his own arrest.Suspects gave terrorists info, indictment says
''

'', December 11, 2008

References

External links

*United States of America against Ehsanul Islam Sadequee
Affidavit in support of arrest warrant by Michael Scherck
March 28, 2006 * *
A portrait of terrorist suspects
June 5, 2006 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Syed Haris Living people 2006 Ontario terrorism plot American people imprisoned on charges of terrorism 1984 births Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani Islamists