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Judge Sentences Padilla to 17 Years

[Washington Post] Peter Whoriskey and Dan Eggen - Jose Padilla, originally accused of plotting with al-Qaeda to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" on U.S. soil, was sentenced on Tuesday to 17 years in prison on less dramatic charges. The ruling marks a major setback in a terrorism prosecution for the Justice Department, which had urged a life sentence for Padilla. Padilla, a Brooklyn-born convert to Islam, was arrested returning to the U.S. in 2002. Evidence at the trial included a written form that Padilla filled out in 2000 when he attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke also handed down prison terms of more than 15 years to Adham Amin Hassoun, 45, whom Padilla looked to as a spiritual mentor; and more than 12 years to Kifah Wael Jayyousi, 46, who prosecutors said helped finance radical Islamic military efforts overseas.
2008-01-23 01:00:00
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