BOSTON, March 2 (UPI) -- A judge has denied bail for a Massachusetts man held since 2009 and accused of wanting to kill American troops in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaida.
U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. said Tuesday there is probable cause to keep Tarek Mehanna, 28, locked up.
The American-born Mehanna, who holds both U.S. and Egyptian citizenship and graduated from high-school in an upscale suburb west of Boston, has been charged with providing material support to terrorism, conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq and lying to investigators, the Boston Herald reported.
Mehanna's lawyers had asked for bail last week, arguing their defense of their client was being hindered by his being shackled in their presence at the Plymouth County House of Correction and being provided limited supplies of pen and paper.
O'Toole, however, ruled "logistical problems are not themselves a reason for the defendant's release."
Mehanna, a former pharmacist, is to go on trial in October.
Prosecutors allege he traveled to Yemen in 2004 in a failed attempt to join a terrorist training camp, a charge Mehanna has denied.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty said he would call witnesses who'll testify that Mehanna also considered gunning down shoppers and emergency responders at a Massachusetts shopping mall.
