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Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence'

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Trials
Posted on Thu Jul 28, 2005 at 12:15:33 PM EST
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U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson in New York sentenced Yemeni cleric Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad to 75 years today, saying "We must all remember September 11."

What did the cleric have to do with 9/11? Nothing.

While the trial was not about the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, the evidence of al-Moayad's ties to bin Laden and Hamas required a stiff sentence.

Background on the trial is here.

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    Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' | 5 comments (5 topical)
    Re: Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' (none / 0) (#1)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Al-Moayad, 57, was secretly recorded promising to funnel more than $2 million to Hamas in a meeting with two FBI informants in a German hotel room. He was arrested by German police in January 2003 and extradited to the United States.
    Am I missing something? He was brought to the U.S. and tried for a crime he's accused of committing in Germany? That's a little, um, unusual, isn't it?

    Re: Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' (none / 0) (#2)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    Al-Moayad, 57, was secretly recorded promising to funnel more than $2 million to Hamas in a meeting with two FBI informants in a German hotel room. Can we take this apart? He was secretly recorded. This does not mean that the meeting was secret, only that the recording of it was. Lots of business is conducted in hotel suites, by the way. And it can involve a lot more money than any hooker has ever seen. ...to funnel... I would like to hear their description of funnel. Is it the same in Germany? Is there a legal definition of "funnel"? ...by two FBI informants...who were highly motivated (can you say $100,000?). Lately, the credibility of paid informants has been one notch just below none. I'm not justifying the Sheik. If he said on tape that he was sending money to AQ, then the authorities have him under international laws. I just don't have any respect, as a reader, for the wording of the sentence above. It told me nothing concrete about his guilt. Is Hamas a terrorist group to Germany? Because outside of our sterile world, many people give money to Hamas, in that it provides needed services to displaced people. If not, why was the Sheik handed over? It's too bad so many in this country see the rest of the world in black and white terms. That closemindedness is going to be our downfall.

    Re: Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:43 PM EST
    I found the FBI affidavit for an arrest warrant here: click The allegation seems to be (I only skimmed it) that he conspired to raise money from other Yemenis in New York for al Qaeda and Hamas. Of course, they had to show a connection to the district in which the case was brought. In this case, there were apparently several meetings, phone calls, and a lot of money wired from New York. It is claimed.

    Re: Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' (none / 0) (#6)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:44 PM EST
    BB...you're absolutely right...to hell with paying attention to matters of law and justice. I am gonna concentrate on celebrity gossip and reality TV from now on. Thank you for making me a better citizen.

    Re: Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' (none / 0) (#7)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:44 PM EST
    BB, the complaint here isn't with the country or the government, but with a judge. So unless you're ready to argue that criticizing judges is somehow unAmerican, you're out in left...er, RIGHT field.

    Judge Hands Down '9/11 Sentence' | 5 comments (5 topical)