SANTA ANA, Calif. – A federal judge in California has dismissed a case against the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden's bodyguard who was accused of lying about terrorism ties.
Court papers dated Thursday show the judge dismissed the case after federal prosecutors asked to drop the charges against Ahmadullah Niazi.
Niazi had been scheduled for a November trial on charges of perjury, procurement of naturalization unlawfully, passport fraud and making a false statement. He could have faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.
The government had alleged in court papers that Niazi was a dangerous threat and had lied about ties to terrorist groups on his citizenship application. The case grabbed national attention when he was arrested in February 2009.
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