May 20, 2013
He's been held for months, now he's finally being charged.
A Pakistani man had been held in New York for four months in the government's probe of al-Qaida. He's been charged Friday with conspiring to provide material support and resources to the terror network.
Twenty-three-year-old Uzair Paracha was held as a material witness since he was arrested in New York in late March.
In a criminal complaint, prosecutors say Paracha had agreed to help a suspected al-Qaida associate get into the United States. They say Paracha met with the man in Pakistan earlier this year.
But they say the suspected al-Qaida associate has remained overseas. Paracha is scheduled to appear in federal court in Manhattan Friday.
Paracha's lawyer has said his client is innocent. His mother told The Associated Press in an interview from Pakistan that the U.S. is holding her son illegally.
