Former Guyanese politician convicted of terrorism plot dies in US prison

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 June 2018, 19:26 by Denis Chabrol

Abdul Kadir, shown in 2007, used his engineering training to plan the attack, prosecutors said

Abdul Kadir, a former People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentarian and former Mayor of Linden,  died in a United States (US) prison, eight years after he was convicted on terrorism charges.

He was 66 years old.

Relatives confirmed that Kadir  died at Thursday morning at a prison medical facility after complaining of feeling unwell.

Kadir, born Michael Seaforth, was arrested in 2007 in Trinidad where he had been expected to transit to Venezuela before flying to Iran.

He was extradited to the United States (US) where he and several other Black Muslims had been charged and prosecuted for terrorism based on allegations that they had planned to blow up fuel tanks at the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

His defence lawyers had alleged that he had been entrapped by an American agent who had travelled to Guyana and visited the former Guyanese politician

A search of Kadir’s residence by American and Guyanese law enforcement agents had yielded, among other items, a photograph of him posing with what had appeared to have been several firearms tucked in his waist.

The others were Guyanese-American Russell De Freitas, Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, and Abdel Nur of Guyana.