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Mom of Arrested Man: Her Son is No Terrorist

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 11:24:39 AM EST
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The mother of one of the five missing men arrested in Pakistan says he traveled there to meet her and her husband who were trying to arrange a marriage for him. She says her husband was arrested along with her son, bringing the total number arrested from the U.S. to six.

In an interview with CNN, Subira Farouk said her son, Umar, was one of the young men detained in the case. She said her husband also was arrested, which would bring to six the number of people in custody. Police confirmed they have six people in custody, not five, as was originally reported.

Farouk said her son would never plot a terror attack. She described him as a business student at George Mason University in suburban Washington.

A law enforcement official says none of the five missing men "had shown up on law enforcement's radar" before they were reported missing.

Maybe they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe they were unwittingly lured there. There's more to this story and I'd caution against forming any judgments until more is known. At least the State Department will be seeking consular access to those who are Americans. I don't imagine Pakistan is a friendly place to face interrogation upon arrest. For that reason alone, I'd be suspect of any claimed confessions.

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    Mom of Arrested Man: Her Son is No Terrorist | 9 comments (9 topical)

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    Heh (none / 0) (#1)
    by TheRealFrank on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 12:20:42 PM EST
    Mom says her son is a good boy. Film at 11.
    well (none / 0) (#9)
    by Jen M on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 05:25:57 PM EST
    Man beaten, raped, and electrocuted confesses after 48 hours of interrogation.  

    Film at 11.

    Parent

    You have (none / 0) (#10)
    by Wile ECoyote on Fri Dec 11, 2009 at 06:13:00 AM EST
    proof?

    Parent
    Take it for what's it worth (none / 0) (#2)
    by jbindc on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 12:38:38 PM EST
    Link

    The men, all from the Washington, D.C., area, had been the subjects of an FBI search in the United States after their parents reported them missing and alerted authorities to the disturbing video they left behind.

    Nihad Awad with the Council on American Islamic Relations, a nonprofit Islamic advocacy group, said the video, which has not been made public, depicted scenes of war and radical calls for jihad.

    SNIP

    Pakistani police say the men were arrested during a raid on a house of a local leader of a banned Pakistani militant group - a group that has carried out terror attacks in the past, including hijackings and has suspected ties to al Qaeda.
    How well I recall (none / 0) (#3)
    by Steve M on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 12:52:48 PM EST
    Ricky Williams' mom swearing up and down that her son would never ever use drugs.

    This enraged me because my view is: do whatever you like, but don't leave your momma hanging like that!  Making your mom look stupid is unforgivable.

    And (none / 0) (#4)
    by jbindc on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 12:54:07 PM EST
    she can hurt you if you leave her hanging like that!

    Parent
    Five US students arrested in Pakistan (none / 0) (#7)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 01:15:12 PM EST
    Five US students arrested in Pakistan over suspected links to terrorist groups

    Five American Muslim students have been arrested in Pakistan after their families discovered a video in which they pledged to fight jihad against the West

    Their arrest, after they contacted radical groups linked to al-Qaeda, has raised fears that homegrown terrorism is spreading in the United States.

    Officials said the five men, all from the Washington area, wanted to join militants in Pakistan's tribal area before crossing into Afghanistan but were turned down because they lacked "references" from trusted sources. It appears they had made internet contact with radicals before arriving in Pakistan in late November and meeting representatives of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Hyderabad. The al-Qaeda allies are accused of murdering the American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

    They then travelled in Lahore to meet members of Jamat-ud-Dawa, the charitable wing of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, which is accused of perpetrating last year's attack on Mumbai.

    All aged between 19 and 25, the suspects were arrested on Dec 5 in Sarghoda at the house of a suspected JeM member who was related to one of the group.

    Their arrests followed a tip-off from one or more of their parents who had been alarmed by their sudden disappearance and the discovery of a video featuring military footage in which they declare Islam must be defended against the West.



    All the more reason to insist on open (none / 0) (#8)
    by ruffian on Thu Dec 10, 2009 at 01:16:47 PM EST
    and fair trials for all terrorism suspects, no matter what nationality or where they are found.

    Not that I need to make that point to this group.

    Ony teabaggers can do stupid things. (none / 0) (#11)
    by Palli on Fri Dec 11, 2009 at 11:06:23 AM EST
    and their ages were?  

    Mom of Arrested Man: Her Son is No Terrorist | 9 comments (9 topical)

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