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Queens Imam Arrested In Terror Plot, But His Role Unclear
By
John Kuhner
Published Sep 21, 2009
Modified Sep 21, 2009
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By
John Kuhner
Published Sep 21, 2009
Modified Sep 21, 2009
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The New York man arrested in the Queens terror plot, Ahmad Wais Afzali, had been serving—cooperatively, at least according to his lawyer—as an FBI informant. The 37-year-old Afzali, who served as an imam in a mosque in Flushing and lived in the house pictured, had been passing along to the FBI information on Mohammed Zazi and his son Najibullah, who have also been arrested, according to WCBS 2.
The news station quoted Afzali's lawyer Ron Kuby as saying, "He was as cooperative as he possibly could be, and now he finds himself charged with a crime because, in this case, it was the government screwed up. The government moved too early, before they had any sort of a case against Zazi."
Like the other two suspects, Afzali has not been been charged with terrorism—only lying to investigators. But whereas some evidence seems to have emerged implicating the Zazis with a bomb plot, so far nothing has been released linking Afzali to any intended violence. But apparently he served as something of a double-agent, informing the Zazis that federal agents were after them. In a taped phone conversation, according to the Post, Afzali apparently tipped off Zazi, saying, "I was exposed to something yesterday from the authorities. And they came to ask me about your characters. They asked me about you guys."
Kuby has begun the second-guessing of the investigation, implying that the FBI acted too quickly, which is why no further charges have been filed: "Now they find themselves without a case and they're lashing out at people they shouldn't be lashing out at," Kuby said.
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