A Pakistani man held for four months in the US government's terrorism investigation was charged with entering the US to help clear the way for an al-Qaeda associate to sneak in after him.
Uzair Paracha, 23, detained as a material witness since his March arrest in New York, waved and smiled on Friday to family members as he entered US District Court in Manhattan. He was held pending a bail hearing next week.
According to the criminal complaint, Paracha agreed to help the al-Qaeda associate obtain documents that would let him enter the US and help him obtain legal immigration status. The government has not released the associate's identity but say the man has remained overseas.
Anthony Ricco, Paracha's lawyer, said his client was manipulated into helping the associate and was looking forward to a trial to prove that he had no criminal intent.
He described Paracha as "a very bright but ... a very naive young man" and added that he did not expect to contest that his client knew the associate was in al-Qaeda.
"Having knowledge someone is in al-Qaeda is not a criminal act," Ricco said. "Many members of al-Qaeda are not involved in criminal activity."
Prosecutors said Paracha met with a man believed to be an al-Qaeda associate in Karachi, Pakistan, before Paracha traveled to the US in mid-February.
Paracha was told that the man wanted to invest about US$200,000 in the business for which Paracha worked in Karachi -- and that he was not to ask any questions because the associate and a second man were supporters of Osama bin Laden, the complaint alleged.
The complaint, prepared by an FBI agent, said Paracha believed the funds belonged to al-Qaeda and that he needed to perform certain tasks for the money to be invested.
It also said he believed the associate was trying to recruit him to join al-Qaeda.
The man asked Paracha, a permanent US resident, to contact US immigration authorities and pose as the associate to get a travel document that would allow the associate to enter and remain in the United States, according to the complaint.
"This case demonstrates that al-Qaeda will go to great lengths to enlist support here in the United States," Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a statement.
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