British-Somali man tried in US court over allegations of terrorism

 

Somali-born Mahdi Hashi (file photo)

A Somali-born British man has appeared before a US court over allegations of terrorism in a case that bears the hallmarks of the CIA’s illegal rendition practice.

The 23-year-old Mahdi Hashi, who appeared at the court in New York on Friday, is charged with being involved in alleged terrorist activities.

Hashi was born in Somalia but moved to London with his family when he was five. In summer 2012, he was stripped of his British citizenship on accusation of being involved in "extremist" activities and thereafter went missing on the outskirts of Somali capital city of Mogadishu.

A statement from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Hashi was arrested along with two other men in August in Africa.

Hashi was allegedly harassed by security agents in 2009 in order to spy on his Muslim neighbors.

Russia Today quoted Hashi’s father as saying that “All I can say is that Madhi is a Muslim in belief; he is a practicing Muslim... That's all why he is being victimized.”

Meanwhile, solicitor Saghir Hussain who acts for Hashi's family said the case “has all the hallmarks of a rendition whereby somebody is picked up secretly and transferred into secret detention and thereafter transferred to another jurisdiction and here it's the Americans.”

If found guilty, the 23-year-old could face a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 30 years, and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

MR/PKH/SS