US judge orders psychiatric exam for Nafis
A Brooklyn federal judge has ordered a psychiatric examination of Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, a Bangladeshi accused, before sentencing him for plotting to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in lower Manhattan, Daily News reported.
Nafis faces up to 30 years behind bars, said the New York-based daily newspaper.
Defense lawyer Heidi Cesare said outside court Thursday that she could not disclose the reason why she asked for the testing, but acknowledged there will be no claim that Nafis is mentally incompetent.
"He pleaded guilty and took responsibility for his actions," Cesare said.
Nafis, 21, will be tested at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn by Dr Richard Krueger, a forensic psychiatrist and complete his report in six weeks, according to the order signed by Federal Judge Carol Amon.
Federal prosecutors said Nafis was motivated to commit jihad by the fiery Internet sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born Yemeni iman and al Qaeda recruiter killed by a US drone attack.
Nafis, a Bangladeshi national who will be sentenced August 9, pleaded guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
"We think the judge needs to know as much about Nafias before she makes a sentencing decision," Cesare said.
The NYPD and the FBI busted Nafis last year in a sting operation in which he parked a van he believed was loaded with explosives near the financial fortress.
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