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Journalism of Courage
Eleven men accused of training to join a Pakistani terrorist group cannot be prosecuted because the US government has indirectly supported the same group, a defence lawyer said.
The claim from defence lawyer Stanley Cohen came yesterday as eight of the 11 men pleaded innocent in US District Court to charges of conspiracy, firearms violations and commencing an expedition against a friendly nation. The other three defendants remain at large.
Prosecutors say the men were training to join militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba, which was labelled a terrorist body by the US in December 2001.
Cohen, a lawyer for defendant Randall Todd Royer, told US District Judge Leonie Brinkema the US has supported Pakistan and its intelligence agency in its dispute with India over Kashmir, despite an official position of neutrality.
Cohen said the Federal Neutrality Act, which bars citizens from hostile action against nations with whom the US is at peace, doesn’t hold in this case as the US has favoured Pakistan over India for more than 15 years. He stated that he will be demanding classified reports from the US government to support his contention.
