ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The president of a Washington, D.C.-area mosque where five young men worshipped before going to Pakistan is disappointed the men have been convicted on terror charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Zahid Bukhari of the ICNA mosque in Alexandria, Va., says he was hoping the men would be released instead.
Prosecutors have said e-mail records and witness statements prove the men used the Internet to plot terror attacks in Pakistan and nations allied with it.
Mr. Bukhari says mosque members are concerned about whether the young men have been treated fairly, especially given the fact that their family members stepped forward to alert authorities after they left the U.S. One of the men alarmed the families by leaving behind a purported farewell video.
Mr. Bukhari says he doesn’t believe the men got a fair trial and says prosecutors did not have a strong case against them.
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