Bail set for brother-in-law of Al Qaeda figure

Over the objections of the government, a federal judge in Orange County set bail this morning for a Tustin man accused of lying about his ties to an alleged Al Qaeda terrorist.

Ahmadullah Sais Niazi was arrested at his suburban home in a predawn raid Friday and held without bail. But the court today said Niazi can be released on $500,000 bail, on condition that he submit to home detention and electronic monitoring.

Niazi, who has lived in the United States since 1998 and earned citizenship five years ago, is related by marriage to Amin al-Haq, an Afghan militant who fought Soviet occupation in the 1980s with a U.S.-backed Islamic resistance force that now is branded an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Al-Haq is married to Niazi's sister, Hafiza, and is said to be Osama bin Laden's security coordinator.

The 49-year-old Afghan was identified by the United Nations Security Council as an Al Qaeda operative in March 2001 and listed as a "specially designated global terrorist" by the U.S. government a month after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Al-Haq's name came up during the terrorism trial of Bin Laden's driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, last year. There have been recent unconfirmed reports that Al-Haq has been detained by Pakistani security forces.

-- Christine Hanley