Britain extradites US man on terrorism charges

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) A US citizen, the first person to be extradited by Britain to face terrorism charges, will be arraigned this week in federal court in New York, federal prosecutors said.

Syed Hashmi, 27, is charged with providing material support or resources to al Qaeda, US Attorney Michael Garcia said in a statement announcing the extradition.

Prosecutors said Hashmi assisted al Qaeda by providing military equipment to others who then transported it to al Qaeda associates in Pakistan.

Hashmi was indicted on four counts, including agreeing with others to provide military gear to al Qaeda to be used against US forces in Afghanistan.

The indictment accuses Hashmi and others, who were not named, of ''unlawfully and knowingly'' conspiring to provide material support or resources to al Qaeda, from January 2004 through May 2006.

Hashmi was expected to make an initial court appearance tomorrow in US Magistrate's Court followed by arraignment in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, the prosector's office said.

He arrived in New York late Friday after being extradited from Britain on US terrorism charges, the statement said.

On May 21, a federal jury in New York convicted a Florida-based doctor of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda and providing or attempting to provide material support or resources.

New York-born Rafiq Sabir, 52 faces a maximum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced September 12.

Before the trial, three other defendants in the case, a New York jazz musician, a Brooklyn bookstore owner and a Maryland taxi driver, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

REUTERS CS SBA PM0747