A 21-year old Pakistani student at Georgia Tech has been arrested for giving “material support” to a terrorist organization. (Hat tip: Buzz Brockway.)

The student, Syed Haris Ahmed, a mechanical engineering major who had become increasingly religious in his Islamic faith, was arrested March 23 by the FBI.

“This is the first international terrorism charge ever filed in Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias shortly after unsealing the indictment “The charge against Mr. Ahmed is serious and involves national security and will be prosecuted with that in mind.” Authorities declined to provide details about the charges but said they had investigated Ahmed for about a year.

Jack Martin, Ahmed’s court-appointed lawyer, refused to comment on the case. Ahmed’s family has rejected the suggestion that the student has been involved in terrorism.

On Wednesday, Ahmed appeared before U.S. Magistrate Joel Feldman and pleaded not guilty, prosecutors said Thursday. Ahmed was ordered to be held in custody pending trial.

Ahmed was taken into custody, his family said, apparently because authorities suspect a videotape he made of a building may have been related to terrorism.

Gregory Jones, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta office, would not say what started the investigation.

Ahmed’s family immigrated from Pakistan in 1997 and are now U.S. citizens living in Dawsonville. Family members said agents confiscated computer hard drives and data CDs from their home last month.

Ahmed told his family that authorities found a video on the Internet and apparently traced it to him. The video was of a building and was perhaps made during a trip with friends. Ahmed’s family members said they did not know the location of the building or when the tape was made.

WAGA-TV reported that the station’s sources say the FBI believes Ahmed traveled to Pakistan last year to attend a terrorist training camp. His family acknowledged that he traveled to Pakistan, but they said he was merely attending a religious school. The report cannot be independently verified.

In a separate case that may be related, a 19-year-old Roswell man was arrested Monday in Bangladesh. Ehsanul Islam Sadequee was arrested by Bengali authorities after at least eight months of federal investigation of him and his family, his sister, Sharmin Sadequee, said Thursday.

Federal authorities would not confirm the arrest. Authorities also refused to confirm Ahmed’s arrest before Thursday.