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Detained American Muslims look to media as they arrive to appear in an anti terrorist court in Sargodha, Pakistan [file photo]
A Pakistani court has sentenced five Americans to 10 years each in prison after finding them guilty of terror offenses1.
Pakistani officials say five Americans, all Muslims in their early 20s, are guilty of criminal conspiracy2 to do acts of terrorism and raising funds for criminal activity.
Defense3 lawyer Tariq Asad spoke4 to VOA shortly after the verdict was announced. He says the court acquitted5 the men of the more serious charges of planning war against Pakistan, directing others to launch attacks and attempting to cross the Afghan border illegally.
Asad says his legal team plans to file an appeal within the week and is prepared to take it all the way to the Pakistani Supreme6 Court.
"The charges have not been proved at the level of this anti-terrorism court," Asad said. "At the high court level, we believe that they will be acquitted. And if of course they are not acquitted, we will go up the highest level of the appeals court."
Two of the Americans are of Pakistani descent. The others are of Egyptian, Eritrean and Yemeni origin.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad tells VOA they respect the Pakistani judicial7 process.
Police detained the men in the country's Punjab province last December after their families in the Washington D.C. area reported them missing.
Pakistani authorities said they found e-mails and other evidence that showed the five Americans had contacted militants8 and were intent on committing a crime.
The Americans claim they are innocent and say they only wanted to do humanitarian9 work in Afghanistan. The men also said they were tortured by U.S. and Pakistan authorities while in jail – an allegation officials with both countries deny.
Prosecutors10 say they also will appeal for a longer sentence. They had been asking for life in prison.
International relations expert Ishtiaq Ahmad says with the frequency of global travel and the ease of communication on the Internet, it has never been easier for aspiring11 terrorists to have a long reach.
"Everything is linked now, you see, from terrorist financing to people physically12 traveling from one region, crossing thousands of miles and then coming and committing terrorism," said Ahmad.
Ahmad says it is that reason that countries need to coordinate13 their anti-terror efforts and laws. But he says that does not necessarily mean suspects have to be extradited to their home countries.
"I think [the] law must take its due course, wherever these people are captured and whatever their origins are," he added.
Earlier this week, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen pleaded guilty to a failed attempt to ignite a car bomb in New York City's Times Square last month.
U.S. authorities say the defendant14, Faisal Shahzad, received explosives training from militants in Pakistan.
1 offenses | |
n.进攻( offense的名词复数 );(球队的)前锋;进攻方法;攻势 | |
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2 conspiracy | |
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋 | |
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3 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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4 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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5 acquitted | |
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(自己)作出某种表现 | |
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6 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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7 judicial | |
adj.司法的,法庭的,审判的,明断的,公正的 | |
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8 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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9 humanitarian | |
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者 | |
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10 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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11 aspiring | |
adj.有志气的;有抱负的;高耸的v.渴望;追求 | |
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12 physically | |
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律 | |
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13 coordinate | |
adj.同等的,协调的;n.同等者;vt.协作,协调 | |
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14 defendant | |
n.被告;adj.处于被告地位的 | |
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