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| Somali man gets 10-year sentence in Columbus mall plot |
| 2007-11-28 |
| Nuradin Abdi's plan to blow up a Columbus shopping mall was no more than an idle threat, spoken in frustration, his attorney said yesterday. But federal prosecutors said those words were a small part of the case against Abdi, who was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for conspiring to support terrorists. Abdi, 35, was arrested four years ago today and will receive credit for serving that time in the Franklin County jail. He will spend the remaining six years of his sentence in federal prison and then be deported to his native Somalia. The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in Columbus, was in keeping with a plea bargain reached in July, when Abdi pleaded guilty to one of four counts against him. Defense lawyer Mahir Sherif told the court that Abdi, who lived on the North Side and worked at a cell-phone business, was frustrated by the U.S. military action in Afghanistan when he met with two co-conspirators at an Upper Arlington coffee shop in August 2002 and mentioned bombing a shopping mall. "He made the statement, but did he really intend to follow through? No, he did not," Sherif said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robyn Jones Hahnert countered by saying the case against Abdi was "much bigger in scope than one isolated comment at the Caribou Coffee shop." In his guilty plea, Abdi admitted he lied to immigration officials in 1999 to receive a travel document that he used in an unsuccessful effort to visit a camp in Ethiopia for what prosecutors called "military-style training in preparation for violent jihad." The government said Abdi befriended Iyman Faris and Christopher Paul, both of whom met with him at the coffee shop. Faris, a Pakistani immigrant linked to a terrorist plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge, pleaded guilty in May 2003 to providing material support for al-Qaida. Paul, a Worthington native, was charged in April with plotting to bomb European tourist resorts. He is scheduled for trial in January 2009. Prosecutors said Abdi admitted conspiring with Faris and Paul to support foreign terrorists, even supplying Paul with credit-card numbers stolen from cell-phone customers to help fund the activities. Abdi's attorney said his client wanted the court to know that he "does not hate America" and that the principles of his Islamic faith include opposition to violence. He said Abdi wanted to apologize to Muslims "all over the world who may suffer indirectly from the consequences of his actions." Fred Alverson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said the government continues to investigate the possibility that the terrorist cell was larger than the three local men charged so far. "Other people are being looked at," he said. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 I'd go for a severe beatdown, and airfreighting his ass back to his shithole with the rest of his family and sponsors, but I'm being unusually compassionate, must be the tryptophan buzz wearing off |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-11-28 19:19 |
| #2 Zenster RULES!!! |
| Posted by: Steven 2007-11-28 16:10 |
| #1 He will spend the remaining six years of his sentence in federal prison and then be deported to his native Somalia. Plenty of time for his cellmate to sharpen up a toothbrush. Abdi, who lived on the North Side and worked at a cell-phone business, was frustrated by the U.S. military action in Afghanistan Cuz we all know what soul-brothers the Afghanis and Somalis are. Sounds more like just another wanna be jihadi gettin' all humiliated-like about the way America kicks Islamic ass so regular you can set yer watch by it. Abdi's attorney said his client wanted the court to know that he "does not hate America" and that the principles of his Islamic faith include opposition to violence. Mahir Sherif needs to be censured by the bar for knowingly making false statements in public. That name, "Mehir Sherif", sounds kinda Islamic now don't it? Say, you don't suppose he might be trying to slide a dose of taqiyya up America's backside, do you? Does anyone else see a disturbing judicial conflict of interest in having Muslim lawyers defending Muslim clients? The defendant's ongoing terrorist enterprise can just as easily be furthered rather than curtailed and done so with explicit legal assistance. Lynne Stewart already has demonstrated what we can expect in these circumstances. He said Abdi wanted to apologize to Muslims "all over the world who may suffer indirectly from the consequences of his actions." More like they're gonna suffer directly for yet another round of Muslim terrorist bullshit being plotted behind our backs by one more ungrateful Islamic immigrant bastard. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-28 13:40 |