The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has for the second time vacated the sentence for Maryland youth Ali Asad Chandia, convicted in 2006 of providing material support to an organization fighting for Kashmiri independence from Indian occupation.
The government accused Chandia of assisting an operative of a Kashmir-based organization the US considers a “terrorist organization” by giving him rides, allowing him to use his home computer, and helping him ship paintballs to Pakistan.
The Court ruled that the District Court did not follow their instructions at an April 2008 resentencing, and has now ordered the trial judge to hold another resentencing.
After his trial in 2006, Chandia’s defense appealed both the conviction and the sentence. On the conviction, Chandia’s attorney argued among other things that the jury was prejudiced by the prosecution’s use of references to the 9/11 attacks, Usama Bin Laden, and other materials which had no relationship to the issue of Kashmir. The Court of Appeals rejected that argument and the guilty verdict stood. However, the Court of Appeals found the defense’s complaint that the application of a “terrorism enhancement” on Chandia’s sentence – an enhancement which turned a normally 6 year sentence into a 15 year sentence – was not justified by the District Court. So, the Court of Appeals ordered the lower court to either justify the use of the terrorism enhancement on Chandia’s sentence, or re-sentence Chandia without using the terrorism enhancement.
At issue was whether Chandia provided material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba – the group fighting against the Indian occupation of Kashmir – with the intent to “influence the government’s conduct by intimidation or coercion.”
The Appeals Court stated in its judgment that “we are not comfortable holding that Chandia is a defendant who warrants harsh enhancement.”
Chandia, an elementary school teacher at the time of his arrest, was known as a youth activist and community work in the Muslim communities in Montgomery and Prince George’s County. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and had no prior criminal record before his indictment.
The lower court will again have to show that Ali Asad Chandia’s actions were intended to influence the government of India through “intimidation or coercion” and thus the terrorism sentencing enhancement is warranted. If the lower court cannot show this, the terrorism enhancement would not apply to Chandia, and he would have to be resentenced with a significantly lower prison time. If the judge ignores the instructions of the Appellate Court again, the higher court can remove the trial judge from the case and give it over to a different judge.
Ali Asad said he “remains optimistic that the justice will finally be served by the Judge of all judges.” He requested Muslims to pray for him and all the unjustly incarcerated Muslims. Currently Chandia is incarcerated at the Terre Haute, Indiana “CMU” - Communication Management Unit – a federal facilitiy set-up to house “terrorism” inmates, almost all of them Muslims. He will be brought back to Alexandria, Virginia for his resentencing.
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