Thread: US sentences Al-Qaeda trucker to 20 yrs

US jails 'al-Qaeda' trucker

A US judge has sentenced an Ohio lorry driver, Iyman Faris, to 20 years in jail for supporting al-Qaeda and targeting a New York bridge for sabotage.

Prosecutors said Kashmir-born Mr Faris, 34, received instructions from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the 11 September attacks, who is now in US custody overseas.

The alleged plan to cut cables supporting the Brooklyn Bridge, close to the site of the World Trade Center attacks, was not carried out.

He was sentenced to 15 years for aiding and abetting terrorism and five years for conspiracy - the maximum term possible.

Mr Faris, who became a US citizen in 1999, pleaded guilty on 1 May to providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to provide support. In the plea deal, he had agreed to fully co-operate with US prosecutors.

Denial

The district judge rejected his request last month to withdraw the guilty plea.

Mr Faris insisted on his innocence on Tuesday, saying "I don't have any connection with al-Qaeda except my best friend works for al-Qaeda".

He told the judge he had wanted to "fool" the FBI so that he could "write a book".

US Justice Department officials have said Mr Faris met al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden at a training camp in Afghanistan several years ago.

Mr Faris last year examined the Brooklyn Bridge to determine whether it could be destroyed, they said.

According to prosecutors, he had also provided sleeping bags, cellular phones and cash for members of al-Qaeda.

He entered the United States in 1994.

Speaking for the prosecution, US Attorney Paul McNulty said the case was "a significant accomplishment in our mission to prevent another terrorist strike in the United States".

"Severe punishment awaits those who assist terrorists."

On a trip to inspect the bridge in late 2002, Faris apparently decided that the plot would be unlikely to succeed.

The Justice Department statement says he sent a coded message to al-Qaeda leaders early this year: "The weather is too hot".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3222595.stm