Raja Lahrasib Khan, 56, appeared before US magistrate court judge Zagel and pleaded not guilty to the charges of providing material support and funds to Osama bin Laden's terror group.
A Pakistani-origin taxi driver indicted on charges of providing material support to terror group al-Qaeda and accused of having links with HuJI chief Ilyas Kashmiri today pleaded not guilty in a US court in Chicago.
Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with his hands shackled, Raja Lahrasib Khan, 56, appeared before US magistrate court judge Zagel and pleaded not guilty to the charges of providing material support and funds to Osama bin Laden's terror group.
During short session, the judge set May 5 as the date for next hearing. Members of Khan's family, including his son Omar and wife Diane, as well as a few cab drivers were also present during the hearing. The accused will be in lock-up till then without bond.
Khan was arrested from downtown Chicago on March 26 as he was waiting in his cab for customers.
His arrest comes five months after Chicago residents David Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana were arrested by the FBI on terror charges. Headley has since pleaded guilty to his role in the Mumbai 26/11 attacks.
Khan, who claims to have known al-Qaeda-linked HuJI chief Ilyas Kashmiri for 15 years, is being held at the federal lock-up Metropolitan Correctional Centre where 26/11 plotter David Coleman Headley and co-accused Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana are also detained.
He came to the US in 1975 and became a naturalised citizen in 1998. He has three children from his previous marriage and has been married to an American since 1994.
Talking to reporters, Khan's lawyer Thomas Durkin said that he will be challenging the government's allegations that there was an attempt to send money in support of a foreign terrorist organisation, specifically al-Qaeda.
"There are a lot of organisations in Kashmir and lot of charities in Kashmir. There is a strong political issue regarding Kashmiri independence. I think that will play heavily in this case," Durkin said.
"The government has a pretty heavy burden here. Whether or not they can link anything to al-Qaeda remains to be seen," he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}