US Indicts Two for Conspiring With “Jihad Jane”

Posted October 20th, 2011 at 5:40 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. officials have unveiled indictments against two men accused of helping the American terror suspect who dubbed herself “Jihad Jane.”

The U.S. Department of Justice says Algerian national Ali Charaf Damache and Pakistani citizen Mohammad Hassan Khalid are charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

Khalid, a legal resident of the United States, was just 17 years old when he was arrested, one of few juveniles to face terrorism-related charges in the U.S.

The Justice Department alleges Damache and Khalid worked together to help Colleen LaRose, or Jihad Jane, with a plot to wage religious war in South Asia and Europe, in part by searching for women with passports who they could recruit.

In a statement, the Justice Department said it plans to seek the extradition of Damache from Ireland, where he is detained on unrelated charges. If convicted, Damache faces up to 45 years in prison.

Khalid has been in U.S. custody since his arrest July 6 in the eastern U.S. state of Maryland. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of 15 years.

His lawyer said he is “disappointed” at the charges, and plans to fight them.

LaRose pleaded guilty in February to participating in a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who outraged Muslims with a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad. She has not been sentenced, but faces a possible life term in prison for conspiracy to support terrorists and lying to federal agents.

Another suspect, Jamie Ramirez, pleaded guilty in March to providing material support to terrorists.