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Defense team for Arizona terror suspect, Mahin Khan, say he's been attacked in jail

Posted at 3:55 PM, Jul 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-18 12:33:48-04

The defense team for an Arizona teen accused of terrorism revealed Friday that he has been attacked while in jail.

In court records obtained by ABC15, the defense team for 18-year-old Mahin Khan said "Mr. Khan has already been attacked once while in the jail, based on the charges."

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Khan was offered the chance to be placed in "voluntary segregation" due to his charges, but he declined. He was placed at Towers Jail in a medium security general population housing where he was assaulted by other inmates on July 2.

Khan suffered some minor injuries and was evaluated at the hospital. He is now at the Lower Buckeye Jail in segregated housing. 

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has ordered that Khan, and any inmate in the future who has similar charges, be automatically placed in segregation. 

Khan has been indicted and accused of planning to bomb a Motor Vehicle Division office in Maricopa County  between April 2015 and July 1, 2016. Khan entered a not guilty plea to the charges on July 12. 

He is being held in jail without bond at this time. A hearing to discuss his bond is set to take place on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Maricopa County public defenders filed a request to seal future hearings involving Khan. In the request, they argue that media presence at the trial would harm Khan's right to a fair trial. In the argument that they laid out to persuade the court to seal the trial, they mention that further release of information could be dangerous to Khan's family and has already resulted in an attack on Khan while in jail.