Terror suspect delivers closing argument

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ATLANTA, June 4 (UPI) -- An Atlanta man accused of supporting terrorism used his final argument Thursday to tell the court he had been "misguided."

Syed Haris Ahmed, 24, recited from the Koran and told U.S. District Judge Bill Duffy, who will decide Ahmed's fate, he hoped his religious message would provide him "protection from evil," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Ahmed, a former Georgia Tech student, requested his trial be heard without a jury so that he could deliver his own closing argument.

"I was misguided," he told the judge about his alleged terrorism conspiracy activities both in the United States and overseas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney said in his closing argument that while the case was "not about throwing bombs and shooting soldiers," it was about "providing support for those activities." He said Ahmed should be found guilty.

Duffey, who did not say when he would render a verdict, told the defendant his case will be decided on the law, not religion, the newspaper said.

"This is not a case about your faith or about my faith," Duffey said. This is about your conduct."