Posted on 01/24/2009 6:33:53 AM PST by LottieDah
BY THOMAS ZAMBITO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, January 23rd 2009, 7:32 PM
Related News Articles Clinton takes charges at State Dept. First strike: 17 dead as Obama aims missiles at Pakistan border Ex-Gitmo detainee now al Qaeda deputy leader A Manhattan federal judge refused to ease harsh, post-9/11 prison conditions for terror suspect Syed Hashmi Friday after the feds say the Brooklyn College grad was caught shadowboxing in his cell.
"I'm practicing for you guys," Hashmi told a prison guard after a surveillance video caught him throwing punches in the air and practicing martial arts, according to federal prosecutors.
Judge Loretta Preska cited the August incident in rejecting Hashmi's request to be spared 24-hour lockdown at a Manhattan federal lockup with just an hour of solitary recreation time every day.
He also wanted a Muslim roommate and a chance to pray with other inmates.
Hashmi lawyer Sean Maher told Preska that if the conditions continue, the Flushing resident, who has been held since June 2007, will be emotionally and psychologically impaired.
"We are on the road to Mr. Hashmi being damaged," Maher said. "This type of confinement right now, I believe, is abominable," Maher told Preska.
Hashmi, 28, is accused of providing Al Qaeda terrorists with cash and military supplies to wage jihad against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
At a prison hearing, Hashmi denied the prison guard's shadowboxing claims and called his accuser "two-faced."
"I don't recognize your legitimacy to judge me," he wrote.
tzambito@nydailynews.com
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