A new indictment charges that the man identified as the father of terror suspect Najibullah Zazi lied about the paternity of a child he claimed was his own son on a 1997 government petition seeking asylum for the boy.
The indictment, unsealed today, says Mohammed Zazi claimed the child was his son, but he was actually a nephew who was adopted in Afghanistan when he was two years old.
The documents do not say whether the adopted child in question is Najibullah Zazi and only identifies the nephew as someone “known to the grand jury” investigating the terror suspect.
Najibullah Zazi, a former shuttle van driver at Denver International Airport, has pleaded guilty to trying to practicing bomb making 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.
Mohammed Zazi’s attorney, Deborah Colson, could not be reached for comment immediately.
The asylum petition was granted after Zazi’s then-attorney filed the affidavits.
In 2006, Mohammed Zazi filed a naturalization petition for the child, again claiming he was his son, the charges say. In January 2008, the petition was approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
During the probe of Najibullah Zazi in 2009, FBI agents took DNA swabs of Mohammed Zazi, his wife, and the nephew. The results of that DNA tests are not listed in the indictment.
However, during an interview with agents, Mohammed Zazi admitted that the child was not his son, but a nephew he had adopted.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
