Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • Charlie Kirk shot dead
  • Nepal protests
  • Russia-Poland tension
  • Israeli strikes in Qatar
  • Larry Ellison
  • Apple event
  • Sunjay Kapur inheritance row
fp-logo
US authorities seek leniency for Bangladeshi Islamic State terrorist-turned-cooperator for informing FBI of terror threats
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit

US authorities seek leniency for Bangladeshi Islamic State terrorist-turned-cooperator for informing FBI of terror threats

The Associated Press • June 28, 2018, 12:30:38 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

He was given logistical and support roles when he joined the Islamic State, until he secretly sent a message to the FBI offering his help, then risked crossing the Syrian border with IS documents.

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Choose
Firstpost on Google
Choose
Firstpost on Google
US authorities seek leniency for Bangladeshi Islamic State terrorist-turned-cooperator for informing FBI of terror threats

New York: US authorities are taking the unusual step of seeking leniency for a Bangladeshi immigrant who admitted going to Syria to support the Islamic State group, saying he deserves credit for having a change of heart and giving the FBI timely intelligence about terror threats. The New York City man, identified only as “John Doe” out of fears of retribution, wept on Wednesday at a sentencing in federal court where he called himself “an idiot” for supporting the militant group he says quickly disillusioned him. “I made the greatest mistake of my life,” the 29-year-old man told US District Judge Jack Weinstein. “I was stupid and lost, and found myself in deep danger.” The judge put off until Thursday a decision whether to throw him in prison or put him under supervised release. [caption id=“attachment_3882625” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] ![File image of Islamic State. AP](https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/IslamicState_InsidetheCalip.jpg) File image of Islamic State. AP[/caption] Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have sought lengthy sentences in several cases involving radicalized, would-be Islamic State recruits who were thwarted before they could either fight for the group overseas or plot an attack on US soil. The man’s case differs because he succeeded in joining IS for several months in 2014 and gaining access to inside information as the group was trying to establish a self-styled “caliphate” that posed a threat to the US at home and abroad. He began talking “within hours” of sneaking away from an IS camp in Syria, making him “uniquely situated to inform the government of (the group’s) strategies, tactics, techniques, procedures, personnel and logistical operations,” prosecutors said. Once back in the US, he secretly pleaded guilty to providing material support to a terrorist organization as part of a cooperation agreement. Details of the man’s odyssey had been officially kept under wraps until this week when prosecutors unsealed court papers in advance of the sentencing. The papers say the man had an uneventful upbringing in a Muslim household but grew despondent when his pregnant sister died from a sudden illness. He eventually became immersed in Islam and dropped out of college. “I guess it was his way of mourning,” his sister said in court without disclosing his name. “He was withdrawn…We stopped speaking.” His online consumption of IS propaganda was flagged by the FBI, which warned him not to pursue a relationship with extremists, the papers say. Instead, he travelled to Turkey and, using social media for guidance, made his way into IS-controlled territory. “He disappeared one morning and we had no idea where he went,” the sister said. Soon he was “confronted with the brutality of the organization and its dubious religious pronouncements, which were not consistent with the defendant’s understanding of his faith,” court papers say. The man avoided battle duty by convincing his recruiters he had technical skills that “he had only seen in movies,” the papers say. So he instead was given logistical and support roles until he secretly sent a message to the FBI offering his help, then risked crossing the Syrian border with IS documents. “If he had been discovered, he would have been summarily executed,” his attorney, Gary Villanueva said in court. Along with his cooperation, authorities have credited the man with participating in a private intervention “with a young man who was being led astray” by IS propaganda. He also helped in the development of a community terrorism prevention program, they say. On Wednesday, he told the judge he had earned a finance degree from a public university while under protective custody. At the same time he’s “keeping a low profile for the safety of myself and my family,” he said. He’s thankful, he said, for the chance “to work against the most brutal organization on earth.”

Tags
US Syria NewsTracker FBI US authorities islamic state IS US Bangladesh
  • Home
  • World
  • US authorities seek leniency for Bangladeshi Islamic State terrorist-turned-cooperator for informing FBI of terror threats
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
  • Home
  • World
  • US authorities seek leniency for Bangladeshi Islamic State terrorist-turned-cooperator for informing FBI of terror threats
End of Article

Impact Shorts

French MPs call for social media ban for under-15s, digital curfew for teenagers

French MPs call for social media ban for under-15s, digital curfew for teenagers

A French committee suggests banning social media for kids under 15 and a nighttime digital curfew for teens 15-18. The report cites concerns about TikTok's effects on minors. President Macron backs the ban, akin to Australia's proposed law.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

US ready to ‘impose costs’ on Russia if war in Ukraine drags on, says Hegseth

US ready to ‘impose costs’ on Russia if war in Ukraine drags on, says Hegseth

US tells Hamas to stop violence against Gaza civilians and disarm 'without delay'

US tells Hamas to stop violence against Gaza civilians and disarm 'without delay'

China seizes 60,000 maps mislabelling Taiwan, omitting South China Sea islands

China seizes 60,000 maps mislabelling Taiwan, omitting South China Sea islands

Syria’s Sharaa pledges to honor Russia ties, seeks economic and military support in Kremlin visit

Syria’s Sharaa pledges to honor Russia ties, seeks economic and military support in Kremlin visit

US ready to ‘impose costs’ on Russia if war in Ukraine drags on, says Hegseth

US ready to ‘impose costs’ on Russia if war in Ukraine drags on, says Hegseth

US tells Hamas to stop violence against Gaza civilians and disarm 'without delay'

US tells Hamas to stop violence against Gaza civilians and disarm 'without delay'

China seizes 60,000 maps mislabelling Taiwan, omitting South China Sea islands

China seizes 60,000 maps mislabelling Taiwan, omitting South China Sea islands

Syria’s Sharaa pledges to honor Russia ties, seeks economic and military support in Kremlin visit

Syria’s Sharaa pledges to honor Russia ties, seeks economic and military support in Kremlin visit

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
Enjoying the news?

Get the latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Subscribe

QUICK LINKS

  • Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV