Pakistan court jails five Americans for terrorism

A Pakistani court yesterday sentenced five Americans to 10 years each in jail after finding them guilty of waging war against the state and funding a terrorist group, lawyers said.

The five Americans, aged 19 to 25, had been on trial in a closed court in a prison in the eastern city of Sargodha since March. The judge found them guilty of two charges, but acquitted them of three other charges.

Each defendant was handed concurrent sentences of 10 and five years and fined 70,000 rupees (€663). Both the defence and the prosecution vowed to appeal.

"We will appeal the verdict and ask for 20 years," said Rana Bakhtiar, deputy prosecutor general for the Punjab provincial government in the case.

The Americans - of Egyptian, Eritrean, Pakistani and Yemeni descent - were arrested in December in Sargodha on charges of plotting a terrorist attack. Umar Farooq, Waqar Hussain, Rami Zamzam, Ahmad Abdullah Mini and Amman Hassan Yammer had faced a maximum punishment of life in prison.

"For criminal conspiracy they were sentenced to 10 years in prison plus 50,000 rupees' fine," defence lawyer Hassan Katchela said.

Defence lawyers and the prosecution said the clause included "waging war against Pakistan".

"For funding a banned terrorist organisation they were imprisoned for five years each plus 20,000 rupees' fine," Dr Katchela said, vowing to appeal.