In a rare setback to government prosecutors, three of the men arrested earlier were ordered released on July 3 to the custody of relatives until their trials. Few of those the government has indicted on such charges have been released with or without bail since 9/11.Those who have been released are required to wear electronic devices that allow the cops to monitor their location. Their trials are set to begin November 17.

The three men, Caliph Basha Ibn Abdur-Raheem, Hammad Abdur-Raheem, and Donald Surrat, have been charged along with eight others with conspiracy to commit acts of “terrorism.” All eight of those arrested earlier pleaded not guilty. The defendants are accused of working with Lashkar-i-Taiba, a group fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India, a region disputed by Pakistan and India. Washington has designated Lashkar-i-Taiba as a “terrorist” organization. They are also charged with violating the Neutrality Act, which bars U.S. citizens and residents from attacking countries with whom the United States is at peace.

This was the second time in a week the men had been ordered to be released by a federal judge. An earlier order for the discharge of these three and two other defendants by a lower court was appealed by the government. The release of a fourth defendant, Masoud Ahmad Khan, was reversed on appeal. The government argued he represents a “flight risk” because his family has property in Pakistan and he had traveled there shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The cops also claimed to have found a document they called “The Terrorist’s Handbook,” allegedly containing instructions on making explosives and dangerous chemicals, along with several weapons.

Prosecutors say Khan downloaded photographs of FBI headquarters from the Internet and had an “arsenal” of weapons in his Maryland home. Maryland home. An order to release a fifth defendant, Randall Royer, was overturned July 11. Royer was stopped less than two weeks after September 11 in possession of an AK-47 rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition. He said he was headed to sell the weapon when cops pulled him over.

Prosecutors also allege that Royer traveled to Pakistan in April 2000 to serve with Lashkar-i-Taiba, and is one of two of the defendants who allegedly fired on Indian positions in Kashmir.

In ordering the release of the three men U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told prosecutors, “The fact that people are arming themselves is not the same as planning acts of terrorism.”

Nine of the 11 defendants are U.S. citizens. Government prosecutors also allege that one of those arrested in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Abu-Ali, may have connections to the May 12 bombings in Riyadh. Three others are charged with instructing the group in combat tactics based on their experiences in the U.S. military. Young Ki Kwon, a 27-year-old south Korean living in Virginia, is charged with conspiracy to commit passport fraud. Ibrahim al-Hamdi, a Yemeni national and son of a former Yemeni diplomat, has pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a semiautomatic rifle.

Three of the accused were arrested the day of their press conference to denounce FBI harassment. Hammad Abdur-Raheem’s father appeared with his son’s attorney instead, and told reporters that his son had fought in the 1991 Gulf War and “is a loyal citizen.” Abdur-Raheem and two other defendants are accused of instructing the group in combat tactics. The indictment even alleges that part of the training took place on the nearby Quantico Marine base.

No evidence is presented in the 42-count indictment that the men had planned any attacks in the United States. Prosecutors allege that the accused trained and fought for Lashkar-i-Taiba and conspired with “an intent to serve in armed hostility against the United States.” Calling the arrest and indictment a matter of “preemption,” FBI acting director in the Washington area, Michael Rolice, said, “It is just no longer sound judgment to have people that you believe have engaged in illegal activity and let them conduct an attack before you do something.”

On July 3 Magistrate Judge Rawles Jones ordered four of the men to be released from custody until their trials, but also placed them under electronic surveillance. Prosecutors announced they would immediately appeal the decision.

One of the counts against the men is practicing “small-unit” military tactics. The government claims that a game played by the men known as paint ball was a subterfuge to enable the group to simulate actual combat conditions. Paint ball is a popular game played in many of the area’s woods. The players shoot each other with quarter-size balls filled with a colored liquid.

They are also charged with attending a meeting at the Dar el Arkum Mosque “to hear lectures on the righteousness of violent jihad in Kashmir, Chechnya and other parts of the world and to watch videotapes of mujahideen engaged in jihad,” according to the indictment. The FBI searched the home of Ali al-Timimi who has lectured there. The mosque is located in a building that also houses the Saudi-based International Islamic Relief Organization, one of the largest Muslim charities in the world.  
 
 
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