Excused juror in Lodi terror case skeptical about alleged confession

[Kadie]

Excused juror in Lodi terror case skeptical about alleged confession
Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 22, 2006


(03-22) 12:20 PST SACRAMENTO -- A juror excused today from the terrorism trial of a 23-year-old Lodi man said outside court that the government had not proved its point and expressed skepticism about an alleged confession that a prosecutor described as the "meat of the case."

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She was on the jury that will decide the fate of Hamid Hayat, who is accused of supporting terrorism by attending a training camp in late 2003 in his family's homeland of Pakistan. He is also charged with initially lying to FBI agents about it.

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Clabaugh expressed reservations about a five-hour videotaped confession that Hayat gave FBI agents last June after returning from a two-year trip to Pakistan. Prosecutors have described it as a clear admission of guilt.

Defense attorneys say Hayat never went to a training camp but, when pressured by agents, lied in an attempt to be helpful.

"In my notes, I recall writing down something about the agents feeding him names," Clabaugh said. "It didn't seem like Hamid actually volunteered anything.

"During those interrogations, it looked like he was being badgered," she said. "It felt to me that in some respects he was giving them information because they didn't believe him when he said he didn't know anything. He had to tell them something."

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