Hamid Hayat, the Lodi man who spent 14 years behind bars in a one of the most controversial terrorism cases of the post-Sept. 11 era, said Sunday that he’s “still in shock” after his release from federal prison in Arizona.
“I’m lost for words,” Hayat said through tears during a news conference in Sacramento, his first public appearance in California since a judge overturned his 2006 conviction, freeing him from prison Friday.
“I can’t believe this day came,” said Hayat, 36. “I still think this is a dream. I wake up and I still think I’m in prison.”
Hayat’s conviction in federal court in Sacramento for allegedly supporting terrorists by training with them in his family homeland of Pakistan was overturned July 30 by a federal judge, who said Hayat’s defense had been harmed by his inexperienced trial lawyer’s failure to call alibi witnesses.
SF Chronicle photo: Retired FBI agent, Jim Wedick, takes selfie with Hamid Hyat.