Pakistani Doctor Gets 18 Years In Slammer For Helping ISIS

ROCHESTER, MN (IANS) – A Pakistani doctor, living in the US on a work visa, was sentenced to 18 years in jail for attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, Daesh, media reports said.

The Pakistani doctor identified as Muhammad Masood was formerly employed as a research coordinator at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, under an H-1B visa, Geo News reported.

“A Rochester man was sentenced today to 216 months in prison, equivalent to 18 years, followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” the US Department of Justice stated.

According to the DoJ, Masood’s activity from January 2020 to March 2020 showed he became a part of the militant outfit and provided material support in carrying out terrorist acts in the US.

It further stated that the Pakistani made multiple statements about his desire to join ISIS and pledged his allegiance to the designated terrorist organization and its leader.

“Masood also expressed his desire to conduct ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks in the US. On February 21, 2020, he bought a plane ticket from Chicago, Illinois, to Amman, Jordan, with plans to travel to Syria from there,” Geo News reported.

However, his travel plans changed on March 16, 2020, owing to the border closure by Jordan under the coronavirus travel restrictions.

He then decided to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, where he would meet a person who he believed would help him with travel via a cargo ship to deliver him to the territory claimed by Daesh.

On March 19, 2020, Masood traveled from Rochester to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to board a flight bound for Los Angeles.

However, he was eventually arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force upon arrival at the airport.

Masood pleaded guilty last year on August 16 to attempting to provide material support to terrorists.