Bedier's Reaction to USF's Ahmed Mohamed Plea Deal

Today former USF graduate student Ahmed Mohamed chose to cut a plea to one count of material support, which carries of a maximum of 15 years in prison, rather than risk spending the REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE behind bars if convicted. The plea deal is found here. In essence Ahmed Mohamed pled guilty to making a video and posting it to Youtube.

Tampa civil rights activst Ahmed Bedier, who has watched the case, reacted to local newspapers:

To the Tampa Tribune:

Local Muslim activist Ahmed Bedier, who has spoken in support of Megahed,
stressed that he doesn't know Mohamed or the Mohamed family. He said the video,
as described in court documents, was "unacceptable."
He said the case is "a reminder to all Muslim youth out there, especially young males, that they have to be very careful about their actions and what they say. Even if they don't think they're doing some kind of criminal act, it might be perceived by law enforcement ... that you're promoting something illegal. That can have some very bad consequences."
Mohamed, Bedier said, "was sent here on a scholarship to do a doctorate in engineering and not to make videos, and now he's going to pay the price for that."

To the St. Petersburg Times:

"We're relieved that the issue is being resolved and people are moving on, and
we're also relieved that no one was hurt," said Ahmed Bedier, a local Muslim
rights activist.
Bedier, who has never met Mohamed, said he counsels young
Muslim men to be cautious in a climate that has zero tolerance for the
appearance of anything terroristic.

The plea deal shows that that there was never an actual real plot to carry out violence and no one was in imminent danger.