NEW YORK (Sputnik) – The US Department of Justice (DOJ) told Sputnik on Thursday that the prosecution in the case of three Brooklyn residents accused of conspiring to support Islamic State (ISIL) will "speak for itself".
Sputnik asked the DOJ to respond to claims by defense lawyer Adam Perlmutter, who represents one of the three suspects detained on Wednesday, that his client's arrest was handled badly and he did not have proper access to lawyers.
Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, of Kazakhstan, and Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, and Abror Habibov, 30, of Uzbekistan, were charged with conspiring to support ISIL, a jihadist group that controls territory on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Outside the federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Perlmutter, who represents Saidakhmetov, said his client will plead not guilty if indicted and criticized lawmen for "ham-fisted tactics" in the arrest and investigation.
Saidakhmetov was arrested on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where he was trying to board a flight to Turkey on his way to Syria, officials said. Juraboev had purchased a ticket for a March flight to Istanbul, and Habibov is accused of funding Saidakhmetov's efforts.
