A court in Pakistan has indicted five U.S. terror suspects on charges that could result in them being jailed for life if found guilty. The men have been charged with plotting attacks with Al-Qaeda-linked militant organizations, according to a Pakistani website.

The five U.S. citizens, aged 18 to 25, denied the charges, which were read out in an anti-terrorism court convened in the district jail of the eastern city of Sargodha, according to a report on the website of the Dawn newspaper.

The report quoted defense lawyer Shahid Kamal as saying, “Charges have been laid against all the accused. All these charges are terrorism related. The offenses are punishable by life imprisonment.”

The next hearing of the case is scheduled for March 31, when the prosecutor is scheduled to provide evidence against the accused, the report added.

Source: www.dawn.com, Pakistan, March 17, 2010