Author:
Publication: CNN News
Date: April 21, 2006
URL: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/04/20/bangladesh.arrests/
A Georgia Tech student has been indicted for
material support of terrorism, and another Atlanta-area man has been arrested
in Bangladesh in connection with the case, authorities said Thursday.
Though the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta
on Thursday unsealed an indictment against Syed Ahmed, 21, details remained
sealed. A grand jury indicted him March 23, the same day he was arrested.
"The charge against Mr. Ahmed is serious
and involves national security and will be prosecuted with that in mind,"
U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said in a news release.
Ahmed is not accused of committing a terrorist
act; he is charged only with providing material support, the federal prosecutor
said.
At a Wednesday court appearance, Ahmed entered
a plea of not guilty, and a magistrate ordered him held until trial, authorities
said. A trial date was not given.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko earlier declined
to provide specifics on the case, but insisted there is "no imminent
threat."
Ahmed's attorney, Jack Martin, declined to
comment.
Ahmed's sister, Samia Ahmed, 18, said her
brother told her that federal authorities found a video of a building on the
Internet and traced the video to him, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
It was unknown where the building was or when it was taped.
One agent familiar with the case, however,
said Ahmed's arrest stemmed from "much more than a video."
On Monday, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 19, was
arrested in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, according to his sisters. He
was handed over to the FBI and put on a plane to New York on Thursday, the
federal source said.
He is expected to face charges in the eastern
district of New York.
Sadequee's sisters said they were shocked
by the news and that their brother has no ties to terrorism. Sharmin Sadequee
said her brother works for the Atlanta-based non-profit group, Raksha.
The organization's Web site states that Raksha,
founded in 1995, "addresses social issues within our South Asian community
such as family violence and divorce, as well as issues concerning children,
senior citizens and new immigrants."
"We are very shocked and startled and
hurt," said Sharmin Sadequee, who lives in Michigan. "We still don't
know why he was taken by the Bangladeshi government and the FBI."
The two men, both U.S. citizens, knew each
other through the Atlanta Muslim community, a Sadequee family member said.
U.S. law enforcement sources confirmed Thursday
that Sadequee's arrest was linked to Ahmed's arrest by the FBI last month.
Sharmin Sadequee told the Journal-Constitution
that her brother was detained in August at Kennedy International Airport in
New York as he was preparing to fly to Bangladesh to get married.
The Sadequee family has since been questioned
several times by state and federal authorities, she told the newspaper.
A Sadequee family member said Ahmed called
last month, before he was arrested, and said he had been questioned by the
FBI. Ahmed told the family that the FBI was claiming it already had arrested
Ehsanul Sadequee, the family said.
CNN's Henry Schuster contributed to this report.
