Yassin M. Aref and Mohammed M. Hossain of Albany were convicted on charges of money laundering and providing material support to terrorism in March of 2007 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. On Monday, lawyers representing the men made oral arguments to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Ciruit challenging the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program and a secret lower court order. The case is one of a handful of criminal cases to challenge the legality of the agency’s spying program, which has been unsuccessfully attacked in civil cases. The court reserved it’s ruling and no decision date has been set.
