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| Suspected al-Qaida terrorist extradited from Britain to US | Suspected al-Qaida terrorist extradited from Britain to US |
| (7 days later) | |
| A suspected al-Qaida terrorist accused of plotting attacks on Manchester and the New York subway has been extradited to the United States. | A suspected al-Qaida terrorist accused of plotting attacks on Manchester and the New York subway has been extradited to the United States. |
| Abid Naseer, 26, had originally come to Britain from his native Pakistan on a student visa, ostensibly to study in Manchester. | Abid Naseer, 26, had originally come to Britain from his native Pakistan on a student visa, ostensibly to study in Manchester. |
| But US prosecutors believe they can prove Naseer collected bomb ingredients, conducted reconnaissance and was in frequent contact with other al-Qaida operatives as part of a foiled plot to kill Easter shoppers at the Trafford and Arndale centres in Manchester in 2009, and a second suspected plot to blow up the New York subway. | But US prosecutors believe they can prove Naseer collected bomb ingredients, conducted reconnaissance and was in frequent contact with other al-Qaida operatives as part of a foiled plot to kill Easter shoppers at the Trafford and Arndale centres in Manchester in 2009, and a second suspected plot to blow up the New York subway. |
| After two years of legal arguments stalling his extradition, Naseer was finally taken from his cell at Belmarsh high security jail and put on a plane at Luton airport by officers from the Metropolitan police extradition unit on Thursday. | After two years of legal arguments stalling his extradition, Naseer was finally taken from his cell at Belmarsh high security jail and put on a plane at Luton airport by officers from the Metropolitan police extradition unit on Thursday. |
| In a statement the Met said: "[Naseer] was sought for the purposes of standing trial for the following offences: (i) providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation; (ii) conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation; (iii) conspiracy to use a destructive device." | In a statement the Met said: "[Naseer] was sought for the purposes of standing trial for the following offences: (i) providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation; (ii) conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation; (iii) conspiracy to use a destructive device." |
| If convicted in the US, Naseer would face a maximum penalty of life in prison. | If convicted in the US, Naseer would face a maximum penalty of life in prison. |
| Naseer was one of 12 people arrested in April 2009 in co-ordinated raids in Liverpool and Manchester after police uncovered the alleged Manchester plot. But all were released without charge because of lack of evidence. | Naseer was one of 12 people arrested in April 2009 in co-ordinated raids in Liverpool and Manchester after police uncovered the alleged Manchester plot. But all were released without charge because of lack of evidence. |
| They were ordered to leave Britain, but Naseer escaped deportation to Pakistan after a judge ruled it was likely he would be mistreated if he were sent home. | They were ordered to leave Britain, but Naseer escaped deportation to Pakistan after a judge ruled it was likely he would be mistreated if he were sent home. |
| Naseer was re-arrested in July 2010 in the north-east of England by Met police officers working with the north-east counter-terrorism unit, at the request of the prosecutors in Brooklyn, where a federal indictment named him as a co-defendant with Adis Medunjanin. | Naseer was re-arrested in July 2010 in the north-east of England by Met police officers working with the north-east counter-terrorism unit, at the request of the prosecutors in Brooklyn, where a federal indictment named him as a co-defendant with Adis Medunjanin. |
| In January 2011, a British judge approved Naseer's extradition. The judge acknowledged there was a "very real risk" Naseer would be tortured if the US ultimately returned him to Pakistan but said he believed the US justice system would bear that in mind. | In January 2011, a British judge approved Naseer's extradition. The judge acknowledged there was a "very real risk" Naseer would be tortured if the US ultimately returned him to Pakistan but said he believed the US justice system would bear that in mind. |
| US authorities allege Medunjanin and his former high school friends Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay travelled to Pakistan in 2008 to seek terror training from al-Qaida. | US authorities allege Medunjanin and his former high school friends Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay travelled to Pakistan in 2008 to seek terror training from al-Qaida. |
| Zazi, an airport van driver from Colorado, admitted in a guilty plea that when he arrived back from Pakistan he tested peroxide-based explosive materials in a makeshift lab in Denver in the autumn of 2009 before travelling by car to New York to carry out the scheme. | Zazi, an airport van driver from Colorado, admitted in a guilty plea that when he arrived back from Pakistan he tested peroxide-based explosive materials in a makeshift lab in Denver in the autumn of 2009 before travelling by car to New York to carry out the scheme. |
| Authorities say Medunjanin and Ahmedzay agreed to join Zazi in three co-ordinated suicide bombings on Manhattan subway lines during rush hour near the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in what Zazi called a "martyrdom operation". | Authorities say Medunjanin and Ahmedzay agreed to join Zazi in three co-ordinated suicide bombings on Manhattan subway lines during rush hour near the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in what Zazi called a "martyrdom operation". |
| The alleged plot was disrupted when police stopped Zazi's car as it entered New York. | The alleged plot was disrupted when police stopped Zazi's car as it entered New York. |
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