WASHINGTON, 9 July 2003 — In what is being viewed as one of the most chaotic days remembered in an Alexandria, Va., courthouse, two federal judges wrestled over the release of alleged Kashmiri separatists, arrested late last month.
One judge ordered the release of five alleged members of what the government calls a “violent jihad network,” only to have another federal judge enforce the government’s claim that one of the men was a “danger to the community” and block his release. The government has said it also will try to revoke the release of the other four men.
The five men, along with six others, were indicted late June on terrorist-related and weapons charges for allegedly organizing a paramilitary training group in the Washington area in support of “Lashkar-I-Taiba,” a group that allegedly wants to drive India out of Kashmir.
It has been named a terrorist organization by the US government. Authorities say there is no evidence the men were planning attacks in the US.
The men, nine of whom are American citizens, say they are victims of anti-Muslim persecution. Their defense lawyers accuse the Justice Department of taking advantage of their Islamic background and their passion for engaging in paintball war games in rural Virginia — to unfairly portray the men as terrorists.
Last week, US Magistrate T. Rawles Jones Jr. said five of the men accused of being part of a “jihad network” did not pose a threat to the community.
In the case of one defendant, Hammad Abdur-Raheem, 29, Judge Jones said the man had a solid work history, strong family ties and military service — all of which appeared to challenge the government’s claims against him.
“The government’s argument that he should be denied bond because of concerns for community safety simply does not hold water,” Judge Jones told journalists. He then ordered the five men released after they paid bail, but required them to wear electronic monitoring location devices while awaiting trial.
The decision appeared to weaken the government’s terror-related claims in a 42-count indictment unsealed last month.
The release order of one man was overturned, however, when prosecutors persuaded a higher-ranking judge to keep a fifth defendant in custody despite his release order by Judge Jones.
US District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said she accepted the government’s request that she revoke bail for the fifth defendant, Masoud Ahmad Khan, 31, agreeing Khan represented a safely and flight risk.
While Justice Department officials hail the arrests as an important step on the war on terror, Muslim groups and lawyers for the men said the group’s actions have been misconstrued and they are innocent.
Defense lawyers argued the government is exaggerating the case in its zeal to crack down on Muslims.
“What the government is trying to do is to inflame this court and to inflame the public by throwing around the ‘T-Word’ — terrorism,” said Khan’s attorney, Danny Onorato.
