File Photo
Ahmed was arrested on Aug. 28, 2017, at JFK International Airport.
By Michael V. Cusenza
An Ozone Park man recently pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, or ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, last year.
According to charging documents, Parveg Ahmed, 22, a U.S. citizen, traveled to Saudi Arabia in June 2017, purportedly to celebrate an Islamic religious holiday. Upon his arrival, Ahmed attempted to travel to Syria to enter ISIS-controlled territory. He was detained in what Department of Justice officials described as “a Middle Eastern country bordering Syria.”
Previously, Ahmed had repeatedly expressed support on social media for ISIS and for individuals who provided support to the organization’s mission of violent extremism. On July 17, 2017,federal authorities obtained a search warrant for Ahmed’s personal computer, and learned, among other things, that he had viewed or listened to recordings of radical Islamic faith leaders Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric and prominent leader of the foreign terrorist organization al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who was killed on or about Sept. 30, 2011; and Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaica-born cleric who was found guilty in the United Kingdom of, among other things, solicitation to commit murder, for preaching to followers to kill individuals, including Americans, because he deemed them to be enemies of Islam.
On Aug. 28, 2017, JTTF agents obtained a search warrant for electronic devices found in Ahmed’s possession when he was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport attempting to travel to Syria. Examination of the devices revealed, among other things: messages sent to third parties expressing a desire to travel to ISIS-controlled territories; a message explaining that Ahmed planned to join ISIS in Syria to wage violent jihad, stating, “[W]e have made it to Dawlatul Islam [ISIS] in Syria. In sha Allah [God willing] we will join the Jihad very soon and in Sha Allah [God willing] we will then join the ranks of the Shuhuda [martyrs]. The West has invaded the land of the Muslims and is constantly attacking it.” (EDITOR’S NOTE: Ahmed’s messages were not edited and published here verbatim.)
When he is sentenced, Ahmed faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
