In a setback for federal law enforcers, a US magistrate has ordered the release of Masoud Ahmad Khan, who was arrested and charged with allegedly recruiting, training and helping Lashkar-e-Toiba’s terrorist activities in Kashmir.US Magistrate Judge T. Rawles Jones of the District Court of Alexandria freed Masoud Ahmad Khan at a bail hearing yesterday, three days after the Justice Department announced indictments against Khan and 10 other Washington area residents, charging them with training to work with terrorists to fight for Islamic causes abroad.The FBI described Khan as a naturalised American but did not disclose the country of his birth. He is said to have downloaded the pictures of FBI headquarters from the Internet.Government called the group ‘‘a violent Virginia jehad network’’ and wanted Khan and others held as ‘‘a menace to the community’’ (of the 11, three are said to be in Saudi Arabia). Judge Jones said he took into account Khan’s lack of criminal record and ‘‘substantial ties to the community’’ in addition to ‘‘the nature of the offences charged.’’However, Jones ordered that Khan, who lives in a Maryland suburb, be electronically monitored. It was, however, unclear whether Khan would be released to his mother’s custody before the government’s appeal against his release is heard, the The Washington Post reported.Prosecutors said they would make the appeal by today. Under federal court rules, the appeal will be heard in the US district court, which ranks above a hearing before a magistrate judge. The urgency of the appeal, said the Post, underscores the rare setback for federal prosecutors, who have generally enjoyed widespread latitude from the judiciary in fighting terrorism since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The high-profile case was announced last Friday by high-ranking Justice Department officials in addition to theUS Attorney in Alexandria.Legal experts pointed out that few terrorism defenders have been released, with or without bail, since the post-9/11 crackdown on Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. ‘‘We will have to see if this is a reflection of weaknesses in the prosecution’s case,’’ said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based council on American-Islamic relations. The 42-count indictment, returned by a grand jury on Wednesday and unsealed on Friday in US district court in Alexandria (Virginia), charged that the men trained with and fought for Lashkar-e-Toiba, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US Government. Federal agents arested six of the men in the Washington suburbs and in Pennsylvania. Two were in custody as part of the investigation that began in 2000, and three are living in Saudi Arabia.The men — including nine US citizens — face weapons count and charges of violating the neutrality act, which bars Americans or US residents from attacking countries with which the US is at peace, in this case, India. (PTI)
