By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
A New York court on Friday sentenced London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri to life in prison for supporting terrorism.
The sentence comes eight months after he was convicted of multiple charges, including plotting to set up a militant training camp in the U.S. state of Oregon.
The Manhattan federal court said he was also sentenced for his role in a hostage taking operation in Yemen in 1998 that resulted in four deaths and for sending a follower to train al-Qaida fighters.
“Abu Hamza’s blood-soaked journey from cleric to convict, from imam to inmate, is now complete," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. "After years of fighting extradition, Abu Hamza finally faced justice."
Hamza had been brought to the U.S. in 2012 after serving a seven-year prison term in the UK for inciting murder and racial hatred. His extradition came after a lengthy judicial battle.
Born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in Egypt, Abu Hamza, 56, gained attention for his controversial sermons near Finsbury Park mosque in the UK, where he had served as an imam before being dismissed in 2003.
He continued his sermons near the mosque's gates until his arrest in 2004, and in one instance was recorded praising the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Hamza's attorneys had asked the court to permit their client, who is a one-eyed double amputee, to serve his sentence in a medical facility.
Prosecutors, however, described him as a "global terrorist leader who orchestrated plots around the world," and argued that life imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence.
