Judge denies bail for US terror suspect

SACRAMENTO, California- A federal judge has denied bail  to a California man arrested after US officials said he admitted to attending an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan.

Hamid Hayat, 23, and his Pakistan-born father, Umer, 45, of Lodi, are being held in Sacramento County Jail on charges of lying to federal authorities.

"The charges are very serious," Judge Peter Nowinski said in denying the son's request. "I find that he is a flight risk."

Hamid Hayat, heavily bearded and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, wore handcuffs attached to his waist during his appearance in US District Court in Sacramento, 35 miles north of Lodi.

His father, accused of lying about his son's activities in Pakistan, appeared in court on Monday and also was denied bail. Each faces up to eight years in prison for making fraudulent statements in a case involving national security.

Investigators continue to gather evidence to see if Hamid Hayat could be charged with illegally attending a paramilitary facility abroad, an offense with a maximum penalty of 10 years, said an official whose agency is working on the case.

It is the latest in a series of high-profile terrorism prosecutions launched since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many of those cases later fizzled out.

"Everyone is very sensitive, aware that we've had hits and misses on anti-terrorism matters across the country," said the US official.

The suspects, both US citizens, were taken into custody by the FBI over the weekend and are scheduled to appear in court again on June 21.

According to an FBI affidavit, Hamid Hayat told agents he attended an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan for about six months in 2003 and 2004. "Hamid further stated that he and others at the camp were being trained on how to kill Americans," the affidavit said.

'UNFORTUNATE MISCOMMUNICATION'

Lawyers for the father and son say the government has tarred their clients with talk of al Qaeda links even while accusing them of a lesser offense.

"It says one thing in the affidavit but the only charge is lying to the government," said Wazhma Mojaddidi, an attorney for Hamid Hayat.

In an unusual twist, the Justice Department issued an affidavit on Wednesday that contained more details than the document later filed with the US District Court.

"At this point we are curious to know how and why that happened," Mojaddidi said in an interview.

Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said human error was at fault. "An unfortunate miscommunication led to the inadvertent release from Washington of an affidavit that was not final," he said.

That original document charges that Hamid Hayat went to a Pakistani training camp run by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a close friend of his father-in-law.

Rehman heads a banned Pakistani militant group, Jamiat ul-Ansar (formerly Harakat ul-Mujahidin), which the State Department called a terrorist group in an April report.

The report said the group is mainly focused on local issues. "Members conduct insurgent and terrorist activities primarily in Kashmir," it said.

- REUTERS