Father of al-Qaida operative convicted of conspiring to bomb New York subway in 2009 sent to Afghanistan

New York, July 11

The father of an al-Qaida operative convicted of conspiring to bomb the New York subway in 2009 was removed from the US to Afghanistan by authorities here.

Mohammed Wali Zazi, 66, was convicted of visa fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February 2012.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Denver Field Office removed Zazi from the country on June 13 to Afghanistan via commercial air flights, a statement issued by the agency said Friday.

Zazi’s son, Najibullah Zazi, is a member of al-Qaida and was convicted of conspiring to bomb the New York subway in 2009.

Zazi had entered the US in August 1990 and became a naturalised citizen in October 2007.

After a US district judge for the eastern district of New York had convicted him in February 2012, he was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison.

Zazi’s naturalisation was revoked in November 2018 by the U.S. magistrate judge in the United States District Court for the district of Colorado, and his Certificate of Naturalisation was cancelled.

He was issued a Notice to Appear in July 2019 in Centennial, Colorado. The immigration judge in Denver denied any relief to Zazi and ordered him removed to Afghanistan in February this year.

ERO escorted Zazi on his removal from the U.S, and he arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, via the Hamid Karzai International Airport.