By Connor Adams Sheets
Prosecutors said Tuesday that a Flushing man arrested Jan. 7 in connection with an ongoing probe of an alleged Al Qaeda terror plot to bomb locations in New York City traveled to Pakistan in August 2008 with plans to kill U.S. service members in Afghanistan.
At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, prosecutors also said they would probably file additional criminal charges against Adis “Mohammed” Medunjanin, 25, according to Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
One of two men arrested Jan. 7 in the terror plot investigation, Medunjanin already faces charges of receiving military training from Al Qaeda in Pakistan and conspiring to kill people outside the United States. Prosecutors also were expected to file additional charges against the other man,Zarein Ahmedzay, 24, of Flushing, Nardoza said.
After investigators learned that Medunjanin and Ahmedzay accompanied Najibullah Zazi, 24, a suspected Al Qaeda operative accused of planning the terror plot, on a trip to Pakistan, The New York Times reported, the FBI kept the Flushing co-op where Medunajin lived under constant surveillance.
The three men lived in the same Flushing neighborhood and attended Flushing High School together, according to The Times. Zazi was arrested in September on charges that he trained in Pakistan with Al Qaeda and was preparing to attack New York. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ahmedzay is charged with lying to investigators about a trip to Pakistan that “John Doe” took during which “Doe” received military-type training. He denied knowing anything about the trip, butit is believed that “Doe” refers to Zazi. Both Medunjanin and Ahmedzayhave pleaded not guilty to the charges they face.
The three suspects were still in custody as of Tuesday, and Medunjanin and Zazi have been denied bail, Nardoza said. Ahmedzay had not applied for bail consideration as of Tuesday.
Prosecutors also said they intend to combine Zazi and Medunajin’s cases, according to Nardoza. It was expected that Ahmedzay’s case would be joined with thatof the other two men, according to sources familiar with the cases.
Ahmedzay, Medunjanin and Zazi were scheduled to appear separately in court Feb. 25.
On Monday, Robert Gottlieb, Medunjanin’s lawyer, sent a letter to Judge Raymond Dearie, saying Medunjanin was interrogated without legal representation by the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force for several hours following his arrest.
The judge ordered prosecutors Tuesday to retain any records related to Medunjanin’s custody and any statements he made after his arrest, according to sources familiar with the case.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
