Tag: Mohammed Zazi

Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, the Colorado resident convicted in New York of planning a subway terror attack, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison today for obstruction of justice (lying to the FBI), conspiring to destroy his son's chemicals, goggles and paper masks (stored at his brother-in-law's house) and visa fraud. The visa fraud pertained to his falsely stating on on a visa application for his nephew that his nephew was his son. (Zazi came to the U.S. in 1990 and in 2007 became a naturalized U.S. Citizen.)

Prosecutors asked for 30 years, seeking to have him sentenced as a terrorist under the Sentencing Guidelines. The probation department agreed and concluded his guidelines were 360 months to life. Zazi asked for probation.

The judge rejected the request to sentence him as a terrorist. While he told Zazi his lies could have cost a lot of lives, he concluded "He wanted to keep his kid out of jail." [More...]

Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, was put back on bail and electronic home monitoring today. He'll be returning home to Denver.

As part of a deal reached in federal court in Brooklyn, Mohammed Wali Zazi must post $50,000 bond signed by his wife and daughter and secured by $20,000 cash. He also will be subject to electronic monitoring when he returns to his home in suburban Denver, possibly as early as Friday.

Zazi was on bail in Denver where he was charged with making false statements to the FBI, when he was arrested due to a charge being filed in the Eastern District of New York charging him with conspiracy to obstruct justice.

He was transferred to New York while in custody of the Marshals and at his first appearance, ordered detained. But as I noted here, the Judge agreed to re-evaluate once his lawyer had time to prepare a proper bond package.

Was it really necessary for the EDNY to request him detained in the first place and make him spend 16 days in custody? I don't think so. Bond is not supposed to be withheld as a form of punishment. But at least it came out right in the end.

Mohammed Zazi, the father of Najibullah Zazi, pleaded not guilty to a charge he conspired to obstruct the grand jury investigation into his son's alleged terror-related activities. According to the Indictment, the object of the conspiracy was to destroy or conceal items such as glasses and chemicals to impair their availability to the grand jury.

Mr. Zazi was ordered held without bond today, but the Judge said his lawyers could reopen the matter and submit a bond application and package either to the Magistrate Judge or the District Court Judge. His lawyer said she had not prepared a bond package, probably because she had just been appointed. The Judge did not detain Mr. Zazi as a danger to the community, only as a flight risk, since he hadn't presented sufficient sureties to assure his future appearance. (Order here, Minutes of hearing here.) [More...]

Mohammed Wali Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, has been charged in an Indictment in the Eastern District of New York with conspiracy to obstruct justice. The basis of the charge is an alleged conspiracy in September, 2009 to hide or destroy objects such as liquid chemicals and containers to prevent them from being available to the grand jury or other official proceeding.

Here's the Indictment. The elder Zazi, who has been on bond in Denver while awaiting trial on charges he made false statements to federal agents investigating his son last summer, was expected to appear in federal court in Denver today. The Denver Post reports prosecutors moved to dismiss the Denver case against him today. According to the court docket, the judge has granted the Government's motion. So no more Denver case, and he's no longer on bond. The New York Times says Zazi has been taken into custody and will have a removal hearing in Denver later today.

It's also being reported that Zazi's uncle, Naqib Jaji, was recently charged in the case. [More...]

A preliminary hearing was scheduled tomorrow for Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi. The Grand Jury returned an Indictment against him today, which means there won't be a prelim. Fed. R. Crim. P. 5.1(a)(2) provides that a defendant=s right to a preliminary hearing does not apply in a case where the defendant is charged by indictment.

The Indictment charges Zazi with one count of making a false statement to the FBI on September 16, 2009:

...defendant ZAZI denied that he spoke with anyone by telephone regarding whether Najibullah Zazi was in any trouble, when, in fact, on or about September 11, 2009, defendant ZAZI did speak by telephone with a person regarding whether Najibullah Zazi was in any trouble.

[More...]

Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, remains on bond in Colorado where he is charged with lying to federal agents about conversations he had with Iman Ahmad Wais Afzali of Queens, NY. (Complaint here.)

The grand jury in Colorado hasn't met yet, and until they do, Zazi is entitled to a preliminary hearing. It was set for October 9, but on September 21, the Government filed a notice that it intends to use information against Zazi that was obtained by FISA wiretaps and electronic and physical searches.

Zazi's federal public defender, Ed Harris, filed a motion Friday seeking disclosure of major categories of information. If the matters are sensitive to national security, he is requesting the Judge review them. He's also asking that the preliminary hearing set for Oct. 9 be transferred from the Magistrate Judge to the District Court Judge. [More...]