US citizen convicted for lying about Pakistan travel

Washington: A US national was convicted by a New York jury for hiding information from federal authorities that he travelled to Pakistan to join a terrorist group.

Abdel Hameed Shehadeh faces a maximum sentence of 21 years imprisonment yesterday. The date of his sentencing has not been announced yet.

According to court papers, Shehadeh travelled to Pakistan from New York on June 13, 2008 to join terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), but was denied entry into the country by Pakistani authorities.

On return, he told investigators from the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) that he had travelled to Pakistan to visit a university. However, the true purpose of Shehadeh's trip was to wage violent jihad against US military forces, federal authorities said.

Several weeks after Shehadeh was denied entry to Pakistan, he attempted to enlist in the US Army at the Times Square recruiting station in Manhattan. Here again his application was denied when it was discovered that he had concealed his trip to Pakistan on his application.

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Though Shehadeh claimed that he had tried to enlist for career opportunities and benefits, his true motive was to be deployed overseas, where he would commit treason by defecting and fighting alongside insurgent forces, the US Justice Department said.

Over the next several months, in subsequent interviews with members of the JTTF, the convict continued to lie about the true purpose of his travel.

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However, in 2010 Shehadeh confessed to FBI agents that he had sought to join a jihadist fighting group. He was arrested in Honolulu, Hawaii in October 2010.

"Time and again, Shehadeh sought to travel overseas to wage violent jihad against US military forces, going so far as to attempt to infiltrate the US Army," stated the US Attorney Loretta Lynch.

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