US judge: Covert FBI sources can testify while IDs hidden

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge has agreed to preserve the secret identities of two covert FBI sources who gathered evidence against a man who tried to join al-Qaida-linked fighters in Syria.

Federal District Judge Terrence Boyle on Wednesday said an FBI employee known as “Zaydan” and a non-government source called “Nusaybah” can testify in disguise or behind screens at the March trial of Basit Sheikh. He’s charged with providing material support to a terrorist group.

Sheikh, of Cary, North Carolina, was arrested in 2013 as he prepared to board a flight to the Middle East. He initially refused anti-psychotic drugs to address his schizophrenia, but he was forced to take them under court order and his trial can now proceed.

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This story has been corrected to show Boyle spoke Wednesday.