A Connecticut court on Wednesday sentenced Babar Ahmad to prison for helping the Taliban and other Islamic extremist terrorist organizations. The British citizen has been sentenced to 12½ years in prison.

Ahmad was extradited from the United Kingdom in 2012 to be tried in a Connecticut court, according to The Guardian. Ahmad, 40, was charged with helping the Taliban, Chechen Islamists and al-Qaida through the Islamist websites he founded. The websites were used "to raise money, recruit fighters and provide equipment for the movements." Ahmad used an Internet service provider in Connecticut for his websites, which is why he was tried there.

The prosecution had asked for Ahmad to be sentenced to 25 years in prison; however, Judge Janet Hall sentenced him only to half that and granted him time served: He served eight years in prison in the U.K. without being charged and two years in a Supermax prison in the U.S. after he was extradited. The Guardian reports that, with good behavior, Ahmad should be released in 13 months.

Local affiliate CBS New York reported, per The Associated Press, that Ahmad pleaded guilty and that the prosecution argued Ahmad's websites were "the first of their kind" and called his support "robust, far-reaching and virtually unparalleled."

According to BBC News, the judge told the court she had to make her decision based on both the severity of the crime and Ahmad's good character. The judge received thousands of letters supporting Ahmad, and British prison officials described him as an "exemplary prisoner."

She found Ahmad to be no threat, and BBC News reported that he has expressed regret for his actions -- in particular, for expressing support for the Taliban.

He will serve the remainder of his sentence in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center.