An American student has admitted that he helped a friend send waterproof socks, ponchos and sleeping bags to al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. <br /><br />On the eve of his trial, Syed Hashmi pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide support to al-Qaeda in a district court in New York. <br /><br />His plea was part of a last-minute deal with prosecutors in exchange for three other counts being dropped.<br /><br />But as Al Jazeera's Kristin Saloomey reports, human rights activists have been critical of Hashmi's treatment and whether he would actually get a fair trial.
