A lawyer for a Queens man charged with supplying military gear to al Qaeda terrorists defended his client as a wrongly accused academic arrested based on lies from an informant and a stash of “glorified camping equipment.”
Sporting prison garb and a shaggy beard, Syed “Fahad” Hashmi, 27, grinned and waved at friends and family members as he entered Manhattan federal court yesterday to face charges of providing material support to terrorists.
“Not guilty,” said Hashmi, who was extradited to the United States Friday, a year after London authorities nabbed him carrying bundles of cash boarding a plane to Pakistan.
Hashmi is accused of teaming up with jihadist-turned-government witness Muhammad Junaid Babar for two years beginning in January 2004, smuggling night-vision goggles and other military equipment.
Babar cut a deal in August 2004, pleading guilty to smuggling money and military supplies to al Qaeda and agreeing to testify for the feds in a bid for leniency.