Radical cleric Abu Hamza jailed for life by US court

Rasa - British radical cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri has sentenced to life in prison on Friday by a US judge over his terrorism-related charges, media reports.

News ID: 1987

Date: 10 January 2015 - 04:29

RNA - Abu Hamza, whose real name is Mustafa Kemal Mustafa, was convicted in May of multiple charges, including hostage-taking in Yemen and plotting to set up a terrorism training camp in the US soil.

Kathrine Forrest, the US judge argued Abu Hamza that he has not “expressed sympathy or remorse,” adding that only life in prison would make sure he could never endanger innocent people again.

She called Abu Hamza's actions "barbaric" and "misguided" and said she was sentencing him to life because she could not think of a time when it would be safe to release him.

The hostage-taking took place in 1998 in Yemen where scores of western tourists were kidnapped, four of whom were killed.

Last May, jurors found Hamza guilty of advising the kidnapers and providing them with a satellite phone.

He was also convicted of sending two people to set up a militant training camp in Oregon in 1999, and sending an associate to Afghanistan to assist al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Hamza denied sending anyone to Oregon or Afghanistan, and claimed he had only an intermediary role in the Yemen kidnapping.

Before being extradited to the US in 2012, Abu Hamza spent eight years in a UK prison for inciting violence, after being arrested by UK police in 2004.

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