Albanian in US charged with supporting terrorism
WASHINGTON — A US resident from Albania faces terrorism charges for sending money to jihadists in Pakistan, then trying to join the group to kill US troops and embrace "martyrdom time," an indictment unsealed Friday said.
Agron Hasbajrami, a legal resident of Brooklyn, New York, was due in court there for arraignment later Friday, the Justice Department said, just two days before Americans mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
The charges appear unrelated to US authorities' warning Thursday of a credible terrorism threat against either New York or Washington coinciding with the 9/11 anniversary.
According to the indictment, Hasbajrami, 27, sent $1,000 to an individual who represented a jihadist organization in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and in several communications with the contact expressed his plans to travel to Pakistan and join the group.
Hasbajrami told his contact that he wished to travel abroad to "marry with the girls in paradise," said the indictment, which also noted that a search of the suspect's home uncovered a note reading, "Do not wait for invasion, the time is martyrdom time."
"The vigilance of law enforcement has resulted in the capture of another alleged aspiring terrorist bent on traveling overseas for violent jihad," said Loretta Lynch, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Hasbajrami purchased plane tickets, and on September 6 traveled to New York's John F. Kennedy International airport, where he was arrested carrying a tent, boots and cold-weather gear.
If convicted he faces a maximum 15 years in prison.
