A Somali-born Canadian citizen who admitted he attended al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and lectures by Osama bin Laden was released from US federal prison on Friday after nearly seven years in custody and deported to Canada.
Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 37, was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Indiana and taken to the US-Canadian border, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.
From there, Warsame was heading to a cousin’s house in Toronto, said his uncle, Abdallah Warsame.
Family attorney Peter Erlinder said Mohammed Abdullah Warsame walked over the border at Windsor, Canada, and took a taxi to Toronto.
US prosecutors say Mohammed Abdullah Warsame is a jihadist who received military training in al-Qaeda camps, dined with bin Laden and went to the Taliban’s front line. His attorneys depicted him as a bumbling idealist who was seeking a utopian society.
He pleaded guilty in May last year to conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. He was sentenced in July to seven years and eight months in prison, but was given credit for time served and good behavior.
As part of the plea agreement, Mohammed Abdullah Warsame agreed to be deported to Canada after serving his sentence. He is not allowed back in the US without permission from federal authorities.
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