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17.02.2012
Unrepentant to the last, the Nigerian "underwear
bomber" convicted in an Al-Qaeda plot to blow up a packed airliner on
Christmas Day 2009 was sentenced to life in prison by a US
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 25, declared he was "proud to kill in the name of God" before being handed a mandatory life sentence for attempting to murder 289 people on board Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
The failed suicide bomber said he was carrying out the work of God against the "oppressors" of Muslims.
"The mujahadeen are proud to kill in the name of God and that is exactly what God told us to do in the Koran," said the slight young man, who opted to represent himself in the high-profile case.
"Today is a day of victory and God is great," he said as addressed theDetroit
Abdulmutallab showed no emotion as Judge Nancy Edmunds handed down the maximum sentences for each count, which amount to four consecutive life sentences and an addition 50 years behind bars.
"The defendant has stated and it is clear that he has enormous motivation to carry out another terrorist attack," Edmunds said.
"This court has no ability to control the defendant's motivation, which does appear to be unchanged, however I can control the defendant's opportunity to carry out those actions."
US Attorney General Eric Holder hailed the verdict, calling Abdulmutallab "a remorseless terrorist who believes it is his duty to kill Americans" who was "appropriately sentenced to serve every day of the rest of his life in prison."
Prosecutor Barbara McQuade said the sentence "sends a message thatAmerica
The botched attack, which prosecutors say was a plot by slain Al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaqi, sparked global alarm and caused theUnited States
The reputation of theUS
Despite stringent security measures at airports in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Abdulmutallab managed to smuggle more than 76 grams of the explosive Pentaerythritol tetranitrate on board the flight fromAmsterdam
Luckily, the bomb hidden in his underwear failed to properly detonate and instead simply caused a fire as the plane began its descent toDetroit
Passengers and crew members were able to restrain Abdulmutallab and extinguish the blaze, allowing pilots to safely land the plane.
Abdulmutallab's surprise guilty plea on the second day of his October trial left many questions unanswered.
Thursday's sentencing hearing gave several of his intended victims the opportunity to weigh in.
"I've never been that scared in my life and I hope never to be scared like that again," said Lori Haskell, one of those on the flight.
"For weeks after the incident I thought I was in a state of shock... I am thankful I'm still alive but what the defendant did caused lifetime harm to me and everyone else on that plane."
Lemare Mason, a crew member, said that his life had changed because of the attempted attack.
"I had a dream job of travelling the world and meeting all types of people. This man stole and robbed from me the pleasure," Mason said.
The extent of Awlaqi's involvement emerged in a prosecution memo filed Friday.
Abdulmutallab told investigators that he had been following Awlaqi online for years and travelled toYemen
He was driven through the desert to Awlaqi's home after tracking down his cell phone number through visits to mosques and then writing to him about his desire to "become involved in jihad," the memo said.
Abdulmutallab stayed with Awlaqi for three days and was then taken to a bomb-maker after he was accepted for the mission.
He then spent two weeks at a training camp where he "received instruction in weapons and indoctrination in jihad" and then Awlaqi hired a "professional film crew" to shoot Abdulmutallab's five-minute martyrdom video.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 25, declared he was "proud to kill in the name of God" before being handed a mandatory life sentence for attempting to murder 289 people on board Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
The failed suicide bomber said he was carrying out the work of God against the "oppressors" of Muslims.
"The mujahadeen are proud to kill in the name of God and that is exactly what God told us to do in the Koran," said the slight young man, who opted to represent himself in the high-profile case.
"Today is a day of victory and God is great," he said as addressed the
Abdulmutallab showed no emotion as Judge Nancy Edmunds handed down the maximum sentences for each count, which amount to four consecutive life sentences and an addition 50 years behind bars.
"The defendant has stated and it is clear that he has enormous motivation to carry out another terrorist attack," Edmunds said.
"This court has no ability to control the defendant's motivation, which does appear to be unchanged, however I can control the defendant's opportunity to carry out those actions."
US Attorney General Eric Holder hailed the verdict, calling Abdulmutallab "a remorseless terrorist who believes it is his duty to kill Americans" who was "appropriately sentenced to serve every day of the rest of his life in prison."
Prosecutor Barbara McQuade said the sentence "sends a message that
The botched attack, which prosecutors say was a plot by slain Al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaqi, sparked global alarm and caused the
The reputation of the
Despite stringent security measures at airports in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Abdulmutallab managed to smuggle more than 76 grams of the explosive Pentaerythritol tetranitrate on board the flight from
Luckily, the bomb hidden in his underwear failed to properly detonate and instead simply caused a fire as the plane began its descent to
Passengers and crew members were able to restrain Abdulmutallab and extinguish the blaze, allowing pilots to safely land the plane.
Abdulmutallab's surprise guilty plea on the second day of his October trial left many questions unanswered.
Thursday's sentencing hearing gave several of his intended victims the opportunity to weigh in.
"I've never been that scared in my life and I hope never to be scared like that again," said Lori Haskell, one of those on the flight.
"For weeks after the incident I thought I was in a state of shock... I am thankful I'm still alive but what the defendant did caused lifetime harm to me and everyone else on that plane."
Lemare Mason, a crew member, said that his life had changed because of the attempted attack.
"I had a dream job of travelling the world and meeting all types of people. This man stole and robbed from me the pleasure," Mason said.
The extent of Awlaqi's involvement emerged in a prosecution memo filed Friday.
Abdulmutallab told investigators that he had been following Awlaqi online for years and travelled to
He was driven through the desert to Awlaqi's home after tracking down his cell phone number through visits to mosques and then writing to him about his desire to "become involved in jihad," the memo said.
Abdulmutallab stayed with Awlaqi for three days and was then taken to a bomb-maker after he was accepted for the mission.
He then spent two weeks at a training camp where he "received instruction in weapons and indoctrination in jihad" and then Awlaqi hired a "professional film crew" to shoot Abdulmutallab's five-minute martyrdom video.
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