Staten Island Man Arrested in Federal Terror Probe

New York, NY —

A Staten Island-based satellite dish operator and native of Pakistan has been charged with illegally broadcasting Hizbollah's satellite TV channel.

The federal government says 42-year-old Javed Iqbal was providing customers access to al Manar, a channel run by the terrorist group that was itself designated a terrorist entity this spring. They based their charges on the claims of an informant, who posed as Iqbal's customer.

Conversations between the two were secretly taped, and according to court records, Iqbal repeatedly asked the informant if he wanted access to al Manar, knowing that the channel is banned. But Iqbal's attorneys deny the charges, portraying their client as a longtime resident of the U.S. who made much of his money from evangelical Christian programming. They also claim the investigation is capitalizing on the recent war in the Middle East.

Iqbal is likely post a 250 thousand dollar bail. He faces 5 years in prison if convicted, but even more if he's found to have provided material support to Hizbollah.