Judge Sentences Al Qaeda Supporter to Prison

abc ^ | 10-28-03

[wheelgunguru]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver, was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for supporting al Qaeda, after first admitting he cased the Brooklyn Bridge to see if it could be destroyed and then trying to withdraw his guilty plea.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema gave the maximum term possible after rejecting a request by Faris to withdraw the initial guilty plea he entered in a deal with prosecutors. She said he knowingly pleaded guilty and that his credibility now was "in serious question."

She also said that Faris underwent a mental competency examination while awaiting sentencing and that a psychiatrist found he had no significant mental problems.

Faris, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on May 1 to one count of providing material support to al Qaeda and another count of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda.

Faris, 34, who was born in Kashmir, showed no emotion when the judge pronounced the sentence. He entered the United States in 1994, became a U.S. citizen five years later and most recently has been a truck driver based in Columbus, Ohio.

"I'm innocent of this charge," Faris told the judge in brief remarks. "I don't have any connection to al Qaeda" except that a friend was a member of the group.

Faris, whose lawyer said the story about the Brooklyn Bridge was not true, told the judge he wanted "to fool" his FBI investigators so that he could "write a book."

He also said he had been "harassed" by the FBI during 30 days of questioning and threatened with the possibility of being taken to the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where the United States is holding al Qaeda detainees.

Faris, wearing sneakers and green prison garb, acknowledged that the judge has "every right to punish me because of my stupidity."

Prosecutor Neil Hammerstrom said Faris wanted to change his plea only after learning the government would not seek a dramatic downward reduction in his sentence.

Hammerstrom said the U.S. government had information from an overseas source that Faris has been directed to look at the Brooklyn Bridge as a possible al Qaeda target and had evidence from his telephone and business records that he had been in New York City.

U.S. Justice Department officials have said Faris met al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden at a training camp in Afghanistan several years ago and Faris last year checked out the Brooklyn Bridge to determine whether it could be destroyed.

They said a top al Qaeda official, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacked plane attacks, spoke to Faris in Pakistan last year about destroying the Brooklyn Bridge.

U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty, whose office led the prosecution, said, "This case is a significant accomplishment in our mission to prevent another terrorist strike in the United States. Severe punishment awaits those who assist terrorists."

[wheelgunguru]

Whatever happened to the death penalty for treason?

[Chuckster]

Plea bargain.