Najibullah Zazi arrives at the offices of the FBI in Denver for questioning, Sept. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Posted: Monday, 21 September 2009 3:21AM
3 Suspects Face Court Date in Terror Probe
Denver (CBS/AP) -- An Afghanistan-born Colorado man, his father and a New York City imam are expected to make initial court appearances on Monday on charges of lying to federal authorities in a terrorism probe.
Najibullah Zazi, 24, a Colorado airport shuttle driver who has admitted receiving weapons training from al Qaeda, played a direct role in an alleged terror plot, according to court documents released Sunday. Authorities have said they don't know the timing or location of any planned attack.
Investigators said they found notes on bomb-making in Zazi's handwriting and that they discovered his fingerprints on materials - batteries and a scale - that could be used to make explosives.
Zazi and his 53-year-old father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, were arrested Saturday in Denver. Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, was arrested in New York, where he is an imam at a mosque in Queens.
The three are accused of making false statements to the government. The Zazis were scheduled to appear in federal court in Denver on Monday, the Justice Department said. Afzali was to appear Monday in federal court in New York.
The younger Zazi has publicly denied being involved in a terror plot. His attorney, Arthur Folsom, dismissed as "rumor" any notion that his client played a crucial role, and Zazi's defense team did not respond to attempts to reach them Sunday.
Federal officials in Denver declined to comment.
Mohammed Zazi and Afzali are accused of lying to FBI agents about calls between Denver and New York. An affidavit accuses Afzali of lying about a call in which he told Najibullah Zazi that he had spoken with authorities.
Zazi's father is accused of lying when he told authorities he didn't know anyone by the name of Afzali. The FBI said it recorded a conversation between Mohammed Zazi and Afzali.
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who tracks such investigations, said authorities could have made the arrests because they feared too much information was getting to the suspects. Additional charges could be filed later, he said.
CBS News correspondent Don Teague reports that Najibullah Zazi first appeared on the FBI's radar screen in August of 2008, when, according to court documents, he traveled to a region in Pakistan known as "ground zero" in the war against Islamic militants.
Authorities began monitoring Zazi when he returned in January this year, including wire-tapping his phones. They became increasingly suspicious early in September when Zazi rented a car and drove 30 hours to New York City.
Prosecutors have said they're not seeking to detain Zazi's father. It was unclear whether they would seek to detain Afzali, who has worked as an informant for New York police.
Ron Kuby, Afzali's attorney, said the government may have been forced to act after Zazi drove to New York. Zazi has said he drove there in to resolve issues with a coffee cart he owns in Manhattan.
Kuby said his client gave authorities a DNA sample and let them search his home after the FBI said it was "frantic for any information about Zazi."
CBS News investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports that Afzali is now charged with lying to authorities about court authorized wiretapped conversations on Sept. 10 and 11 - including one in which Afzali allegedly tipped off Zazi and his father about the FBI's interest in them and several other men.
Kuby calls that charge groundless.
"They don't have any evidence of terrorism against anyone," Afzali's attorney told CBS News. "And as a result, they're lashing out. And they're lashing out against one person; Imam Afzali, who had consistently helped them.
Before his arrest, Afzali told CBS Station WCBS in a phone call that he felt betrayed by the police.
"It's funny how for years they came to me … used to come to our house and drink tea. And then, they are going to set you up like this," he said Sept. 19.
An arrest affidavit shows Zazi admitted to FBI agents that he received instructions from al Qaeda operatives on subjects such as weapons and explosives. They also say he received the training in the federally administered tribal areas of Pakistan.
"I think this demonstrates, despite what some have said, that the safe haven in Pakistan and al Qaeda core still matter; they still matter because there is training underway," said CBS News national security analyst Juan Zarate. "There are Westerners, including people from the U.S., who are willing to travel there to connect to al Qaeda to be launched and sent back."
Court documents filed in Denver say Zazi spoke with agents under an agreement where he might avoid prosecution. Zazi's defense denied reports that he considered a plea deal related to terror charges.
The FBI said it found images of handwritten notes on a laptop containing formulas and instructions for making a bomb, detonators and a fuse. Zazi told the FBI that he must have unintentionally downloaded the notes as part of a religious book and that he deleted the book "after realizing that its contents discussed jihad."
An affidavit says the handwriting on the notes appeared to be Zazi's. It also says they were e-mailed in December as an attachment between accounts believed to be owned by Zazi, including an account that originated in Pakistan.
FBI agents say Najibullah Zazi traveled to Pakistan twice this year. Zazi says he was visiting his wife, who lives in the Peshawar region.
Zazi was born in Afghanistan, moved to Pakistan at age 7 and emigrated to the United States in 1999. He returned to Pakistan in 2007 and 2008 to visit his wife, according to Folsom.
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