The Hindu : Three jailed in U.S. for role in jihad network

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 10, 2003

International

International

Three jailed in U.S. for role in jihad network

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington Nov. 9. A judge in Virginia has sentenced three men to prison terms ranging from 11 years to three years and 10 months for their role in a jihad network that trained members supporting a Pakistani terrorist outfit. The three were a part of group of 11 members who were charged with training in military tactics near Fredricksburg, Virginia, to support the Lakshar-e-Toiba, the Pakistani terror outfit that is involved in violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

The three men took full responsibility for their roles in the jihad network. Khwaja Mahmood Hassan, a native of Pakistan, came to this country as a teenager and was working in a high tech industry in Virginia; Yong Ki Kwan is a naturalised American citizen from South Korea and a convert to Islam; and Donald Surratt, an African American in Maryland is also a convert to Islam and with three years of service in the Marines. According to the indictment, some in the group of 11 including Yong and Hassan had travelled to Pakistan in 2001 to train and serve in the Lakshar-e-Toiba outfit.

The prosecution tried to make the case that these two men had also agreed to join the Taliban and fight U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But the judge ruled insufficient evidence on this count. Surratt did not travel to Pakistan, it is said. The Federal District Court Judge handed Yong a prison sentence of 11 years and six months; Hassan to 11 years and 3 months and Surratt to 3 years and 10 months. All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy and illegal use of firearms.

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