BAINBRIDGE – Supporters of an Albany imam - or person who leads prayers in a mosque - convicted of terrorism charges in Albany in 2006 began a ten day, 133 mile walk last Friday with the hopes of publicizing the man’s new appeal based on evidence uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act request in 2011. The supporters are set to pass through Sidney and Bainbridge Saturday and Afton on Sunday.

The walk has been dubbed “Journey for Justice.”

The supporters will hand deliver a petition asking the judge who will hear the appeal ­– Honorable Thomas McAvoy, Binghamton – to give the appeal serious consideration.

Yassin M. Aref, 43, was an Albany resident when he was arrested by federal authorities in 2004 as part of a counter-terrorism sting operation. Aref was convicted in October of 2006 of conspiring to aid a terrorist group and provide support for a weapon of mass destruction. Charges of money-laundering and supporting a terrorist organization were also included. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Aref left Iraq as a refugee in 1994, lived in Syria for five years, and was then approved by the United Nations as a refugee to be sent to a third country – the United States. He initially held employment as a janitor and ambulance driver, and later secured employment as an imam.