Legal Commentary

Two Brooklyn Men Associated With Najibullah Zazi Charged

By Jeralyn

Adis Medunjanin, 25, a U.S. citizen of Bosnian origin and Zarein Ahmedzay, a 24-year-old man of Afghani origin, both high school buddies of Najibullah Zazi, the 24 year old arrested last summer in Denver and charged with terror offenses, have been charged in federal court in Brooklyn with crimes related to Zazi.

At a Saturday arraignment at Brooklyn federal court, Medunjanin was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, Pakistan, and one count of getting military-style training from al Qaeda.

...Zarein Ahmedzay, a 24-year-old man of Afghani origin, also was arrested on Friday and pleaded not guilty to a charge of making false statements to the FBI -- specifically, that he lied about where he had visited in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

This has probably been brewing for a while as according to docket information on PACER, the Government advised the court in Zazi's case on December 3, 2009 that there likely will be a superseding Indictment. The next conference is set for Feb. 25. [more...]

I haven't read the complaints or Indictments as they are not on PACER yet, but the article says investigators believe all three attended an al Qaeda training camp in 2008 and that both have been under surveillance since Zazi's arrest. Also,

Authorities searched Medunjanin's home on Thursday afternoon and seized his U.S. passport. Medunjanin then got in his car and began racing through the streets of New York at speeds of up to 90 mph/(145 kph), according to a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"He called 911 (the emergency response line) and invoked the name of Allah. He said, 'We love death more than you love life!' and rammed the car in front of him," the law enforcement official said.

CNN adds:

When Medunjanin's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, was asked about the message, he told CNN: "That particular comment had nothing to do with terrorism."

"People say things consistent with their upbringing, their background, their beliefs that if you want to misinterpret, you can for your own purposes," the lawyer said. "I have nothing more to say about it at this time."

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 09, 2010 (boomark / email).