NY man said to use computer skills to aid Al-Qaeda

Sabirhan Hasanoff, 34, a dual US and Australian citizen who owns a home in Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on April 30 and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, according to a US District Court indictment.

Another New York man, Wesam El-Hanafi, was arrested and charged in the same indictment, and is currently detained pending an appearance in Manhattan federal court later this week. Both men are accused of pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda and using their computer expertise to aid the group.

After hearing from prosecutors and Hasanoff's attorney Anthony Ricco, US Magistrate Judge James Francis placed Hasanoff in detention without bail, deeming his "level of sophistication" too big a risk.

Hasanoff pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Al Qaeda was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that included strikes on the World Trade Center in New York with hijacked airliners that killed almost 3,000 people. Another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon in Washington and a fourth was brought down in a Pennsylvania field, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.