WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2022) An Iraqi citizen living in New York was sentenced to four years in Federal prison for lying on a US immigration application about his membership in an Iran-backed Shia militia group, the Justice Department said in a statement.
"Chasib Hafedh Saadoon Al Fawadi, age 36, an Iraqi citizen residing in Geddes, New York, was sentenced today to serve 48 months in federal prison for his convictions for making false statements in a US immigration application for permanent residence, and making false statements to US Immigration officials during an oral interview for permanent residency," the release said on Friday.
Al Fawadi, the release added, admitted that on a written US immigration application in 2017 he falsely denied being a member of any group engaged in violent activities. The statement was false because Fawadi was a member of an Iranian-backed paramilitary group called As'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) since he was 26.
His role in AAH, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, included travel to Syria in 2013 to fight on behalf of the Syrian government, the release said.
Al Fawadi also did not reveal trips to Syria, Iran, and Jordan, when he applied for refugee classification, according to the Justice Department.
