TEXAS: Pakistani student tied to terror plot convicted on gun charge (Student Visa Overstayer)

AP

HOUSTON, Texas -- A Pakistani student who authorities said had ties to a terrorist plot to aid the Taliban was convicted Tuesday on a gun charge.

Shiraz Syed Qazi, 26, was found guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by an alien during a brief trial conducted by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal. Qazi waived his right to a jury trial.

Under federal law, a nonimmigrant with a student visa, such as Qazi, can't have firearms or ammunition.

The charge stemmed from a 2005 camping trip outside Houston that Qazi made with three other men. Authorities said the trip was part of paramilitary training the four men, all Muslims, were going through.

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Posted by tyne at January 31, 2007