By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Another member of the so-called Virginia Jihad, a terrorist group training in Virginia to mount expeditions to attack India, including Kashmir, Chechnya, Russia and Pakistan, has been sentenced to 121 months in prison.
Sabri Benkahla, 32, was also ordered Wednesday by US District Judge James C. Cacheris to pay a $17,500 fine. A federal jury convicted him in February 2007 on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
In June 2003, Benkahla and 10 others were indicted by a grand jury in Alexandria for conspiring to commit various offences including mounting expeditions to attack Kashmir and Chechnya in the course of training for jihad in Virginia and Pakistan.
Among the defendants, Masaud Khan, Seifullah Chapman, Randall Royer, Ibrahim Al-Hamdi, Mohammed Aatique, Yong Kwon, and Khwaja Hasan, were alleged to have attended jihad-training camps operated by the Pakistani terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, in 2000 and 2001.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated a terrorist organization by the US in December 2001. After that time, Ali Asad Chandia, Masaud Khan and Seifullah Chapman assisted the outfit official Muhammad Ajmal Khan in his attempts to acquire for the organisation materials including software to control an unmanned aerial vehicle, kevlar, and night vision goggles.
A total of 12 people have been convicted in connection with this case. Those previously sentenced include:
* Masaud Khan – a US citizen – to life in prison for conspiring to wage war against the US, providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba and using automatic weapons in furtherance of crimes of violence.
* Seifullah Chapman – a US citizen – to 65 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, violate the Neutrality Act, use firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence, and using an automatic weapon in furtherance of crimes of violence.
* Ali Asad Chandia – a US citizen – to 15 years, for conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, and providing material support to Laskar-e-Taiba.
* Muhammed Aatique – a Pakistani national – to 10 years, 2 months, for aiding others in commencing a military expedition against a friendly nation and using and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
* Hammad Abdur Raheem – a US citizen – to 52 months in prison for conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba and violate the Neutrality Act.