A new indictment charges that the man identified as the father of terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi lied about the paternity of a child he claimed was his son on a 1997 government petition seeking asylum for the boy.
The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, says Mohammed Zazi claimed the child was his son, but he was actually a nephew who was adopted in Afghanistan when he was 2 years old.
The documents do not say whether the adopted child in question is Najibullah Zazi and identifies the nephew only as someone “known to the grand jury” investigating the terrorism suspect.
Najibullah Zazi, a former shuttle van driver at Denver International Airport, has pleaded guilty to practicing bombmaking skills in Aurora and preparing to attack the New York subway system.
He faces life in prison.
In 1998, Mohammed Zazi had his then-attorney file two affidavits with the asylum petition claiming that the son’s birth records were destroyed in Afghanistan, but the attorney had personally witnessed his birth, the indictment says.
Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in New York, declined to reveal the identity of the nephew.
Felisa Cardona, The Denver Post
