Terrorism News: Osama Bin Laden Aide Khalid al-Fawwaz Sentenced to Life in Prison
A jury sentenced Osama Bin Laden's former top aide to life in prison on Friday for the 1998 bombings of two embassies in Africa, reports the Associated Press.
A woman who was blinded in one of the attacks confronted Khalid al-Fawwaz during his sentencing. "I worship the same God as you, but he is not an angry God," Ellen Karas said.
Al-Fawwaz was arrested in London just weeks after the 1998 attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. He was finally extradited from England in 2012. In February, the 52-year-old man was convicted of terror charges and accused of supporting the bombings that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.
"I can't find words to describe how terribly sad and sorry I am," al-Fawwaz told nearly two dozen victims sitting in court. "I don't support violence. ... I hope one day people will find other ways to live with their differences other than violence."
Al-Qaida used al-Fawwaz and many other people like him to carry out attacks, train killers, supply the terror group with technology and to publicize deadly acts. "You were all in on that program," U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told al-Fawwaz.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the defendant "conspired with a murderous regime, and the result was a horrific toll of terror and death. The price he will pay, appropriately severe as it is, cannot possibly compensate his victims and their families."
Meanwhile, the defendant's lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, asked that he be sentenced to less than life in prison, AP reports.
Sternheim says the defendant is less culpable in the case than others. Yet, court papers found that al-Fawwaz was an al-Qaida leader. Reports say he directed a military training camp in Afghanistan in 1991.
The defendant is also known for publicizing bin Laden's declaration of war against the United States, making sure the news traveled across the globe.
"My goal was reform, not rebellion," the Saudi national told the court, according to the BBC.
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