Relatives of a man accused of aiding terrorists have pledged their Gwinnett County home as collateral for his bond, court documents filed Tuesday show.
The relatives – including a Gwinnett county senior assistant district attorney – also have pledged to closely monitor Asif Ahmed Salim to ensure he does not violate terms of his release if a federal judge in Ohio agrees to release him on bond.
Federal prosecutors say Salim, 35, and three others raised money for an al-Qaida leader who died in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011. In court documents, Salim has denied the charges and asked to be released on bond to the custody of his wife and her family in Duluth. Prosecutors have asked the judge to reject the request.
In a court brief filed Tuesday, Salim’s attorney argues he “is neither a risk of flight nor a danger to the community, and therefore should be released with appropriate conditions.”
Accompanying the brief are sworn statements from his wife and mother-in-law, who have pledged to monitor Salim if the judge released him to their custody.
His wife noted she home schools their four children and does not work outside the home, so “I will be home all day and night to monitor Asif and ensure that he abides by all bail conditions.”
His mother-in-law also pledged to monitor Salim. She noted that ensuring he complies with terms of his release would be in the best interests of her and her retired husband, because they have pledged their Duluth home for his bond.
“Because losing our home is not an option, Asif would be under constant watch from me and his actions would be closely observed in order to ensure that there are no violations of any bail conditions,” she wrote. “If there were, the first phone call I would make would be to his pre-trial services officer, and then to authorities.”
Salim’s attorney also argued that his sister-in-law, Senior Assistant District Attorney Sabrina Nizam, has agreed to serve as a custodian to ensure Salim complies with the terms of his release. Nizam is expected to testify at a May 4 hearing, when U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary will be asked to rule on Salim’s motion to be released.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter has said he knows and trusts Nizam, and that the charges against her brother-in-law should not reflect on her.
Federal prosecutors have urged the judge to reject Salim's request to be released without a hearing. They note the judge already has denied his request once, and say Salim has provided no new evidence that would merit reversing that decision.
A former federal prosecutor recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it is very unlikely the judge will release Salim, given the seriousness of the charges against him.
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