Radical Muslim preacher Abu Hamza has been sentenced to life in prison by a New York court. He was found guilty of a number of terrorist crimes, including:
- The 1998 abduction of 16 Western tourists by providing Yemeni kidnappers with strategical advice and a satellite phone.
- Conspiring to set up a terror training camp in Oregon, U.S. in 1999.
- Providing supportive material to Al-Qaeda
- Assisting the Taliban
- Sending terrorist recruits to Afghanistan.
During the trail jurors heard a tape in which Hamza (real name Mustafa Kamel Mustafa) said: “Everybody was happy when the planes hit the World Trade Center.”
RT.com reports:
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Prosecutors urged a life sentence for a man they called a “global terrorist leader who orchestrated plots around the world.”
His lawyers said the court should take Hamza’s disabilities into account – including being blind in one eye, having had both forearms amputated, diabetes and high blood pressure – when handing down sentence.
They argued he should not receive a life sentence and that Hamza should be sent to a prison medical facility instead of a maximum security prison.
Hamza revealed he lost his hands in an accidental explosion two decades ago in Pakistan, where he claimed he was working as an engineer.
The Egyptian-born father of nine gained notoriety for encouraging violence, as he spread inflammatory messages at the London Finsbury Park Mosque, which he led, following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Sean Adl-Tabatabai
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