Islamic Cleric Gets Life In NY Terrorism Case
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An Islamic cleric convicted of terrorism charges for plots to kidnap tourists in Yemen in 1998 and build a terrorist training camp in Oregon has been sentenced to life in prison by a judge who called his actions "barbaric'' and "misguided.''
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, 56, commonly known as Abu Hamza al-Masri, was sentenced Friday in Manhattan after his May conviction.
Abu Hamza was convicted of aiding terrorists who kidnapped tourists in Yemen and of helping others plot to open a terror training camp in Bly, Oregon. Four tourists were killed in the Yemen kidnapping. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a life sentence.
His lawyers had urged U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest to take into account that their client will have a particularly hard time in prison because he is missing hands and forearms and has other ailments.
Islamic Cleric Gets Life In NY Terrorism Case
In court papers, Mustafa's attorneys said he would face unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment if his amputated forearms, psoriasis, diabetes and high blood pressure weren't taken into account at sentencing. They recommended a prison term less than life.
They told Forrest that housing Abu Hamza at Colorado's Supermax federal prison, sometimes referred to as the "Alcatraz of the Rockies,'' would violate assurances the United States made to British judges to secure his 2012 extradition to America.
Abu Hamza begged the court to ease his life sentence by sending him to a medical facility, but the judge refused, telling him that when he got his disabilities -- losing his eye and both hands while handling explosives -- it was before he committed these crimes, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
"You knew the risks," Forrest said.
She'll leave it up to the Bureau of Prisons to decide where he will spend the rest of his life, Cornell reported.
Prosecutors said in court papers Friday that the government never promised the United Kingdom that Abu Hamza would not be assigned to Supermax.
Prosecutors also insisted life in prison was the only appropriate sentence, saying that at the Finsbury Park Mosque in London, Abu Hamza worked "tirelessly to drive his young, impressionable followers to participate in acts of violence and murder across the globe.''
They said he "openly and unapologetically used the power of his hateful words to distort religion by giving purported religious justification for acts of terrorism.''
The government said evidence at trial proved Abu Hamza's actions went far beyond his words as he helped ensure kidnappers in Yemen had a satellite phone and he gave guidance to the leader of the kidnapping.
"Abu Hamza's blood-soaked journey from cleric to convict, from Imam to inmate, is now complete," stated Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "In May, after a fair and public trial, a jury pronounced Abu Hamza guilty for his leadership and support of, as well as participation in, terrorist activities, ranging from a fatal hostage-taking in Yemen to establishing a terrorist training camp in Oregon to sending a follower to aid Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. After years of fighting extradition, Abu Hamza finally faced justice, as all those who engage in terrorism against innocent civilians must, here in the U.S., and all around the globe, as the terrible events in Paris remind us."
The sentencing does not mark the end of Abu Hamza's influence in the world of terrorism, Cornell reported.
Abu Hamza's Influence Continues
A former British informant has revealed that the shootings in the Paris newspaper this week are part of Abu Hamza's continuing legacy of terrorism, Cornell reported.
The informant described one of the shooting suspects, Cherif Kouachi, as being mentored by Djamel Beghal, a devoted disciple of Abu Hamza.
Kouachi was apparently recruited 10 years ago in prison by Beghal, who had been a constant presence at the London mosque that was the base of operations for Abu Hamza.
Beghal is viewed as one of the most dangerous of the extremists who congregated at the mosque. He allegedly recruited shoe bomber Richard Reid and plotted to kill President Bush at a summit in Geneva.
The informant said Abu Hamza's warped view of the world has been filtered down to a new generation of terrorists, Cornell reported.
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