Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen formerly held as an ``enemy combatant,'' was sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison for terrorist conspiracy as a judge rejected the Bush administration's bid for a life sentence.

Padilla, 37, described by a prosecutor during his trial as the ``star recruit'' of a terrorism support cell, was convicted Aug. 16, five years after he was arrested upon arriving in the U.S. on a flight from Pakistan. Padilla is appealing his conviction, and prosecutor John Shipley said the government will appeal the sentence as too lenient.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke in Miami said she took into consideration the ``harsh conditions'' of Padilla's confinement in a Navy brig before he was charged, including ``the noise, no mattress, no books, no contact with family or a lawyer.''

``I dispute the government's contention that I can't take into account these considerations in fashioning a sentence,'' Cooke said.

Padilla's conviction after a three-month trial had bolstered President George W. Bush's war on terrorism. The administration has suffered legal setbacks over presidential power to determine the fate of accused terrorists held without trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In deciding against life sentences for Padilla and two co- defendants, Cooke said the three didn't engage in conduct intended to murder or maim on U.S. soil and didn't harm any Americans in the U.S. or abroad. The sentences are shorter than 30-year minimum terms that Cooke previously said were supported by sentencing guidelines.

`Send a Message'

Even so, the judge said, ``I support the government's contention that these defendants were engaged in conspiracy to murder, maim and kidnap.'' She said, ``I want to send a message that these crimes will not be tolerated in this country and are not excusable.''

Cooke said she would recommend that Padilla be incarcerated at a federal prison in Miami.

The three defendants' ``North American support cell has been dismantled and can no longer send money and jihadist recruits to conflicts overseas,'' Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.

Padilla's lawyer declined to comment.

``You know from the beginning that my son was innocent,'' said Estela Lebron, Padilla's mother. ``Mentally, he's not right after all the years of incarceration. The whole case was a joke.''

Conspiring to Murder

A jury found Padilla and his co-defendants guilty of conspiring to commit murder in a foreign country, conspiring to support terrorist groups and giving support to terrorists. They weren't accused of committing violent acts or being involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Prosecutors said Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi supported the al-Qaeda network and terrorist activities from 1993 to 2001. An earlier accusation that Padilla plotted to explode a radioactive ``dirty bomb'' in the U.S. wasn't included in the charges.

Cooke sentenced Hassoun to 12 years and eight months in prison and Jayyousi to 15 years and eight months.

Hassoun's lawyer, Jeanne Baker, called the sentencing a ``defeat for the government.'' Jayyousi's lawyer, William Swor, said, ``The government just made America less free.''

Padilla was arrested May 8, 2002, at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft touted the arrest as a key success in the war on terrorism. Citing the dirty-bomb accusation, Bush ordered Padilla held as an enemy combatant in military custody, where he remained for the next 3 1/2 years.

Civilian Custody

Padilla was charged in criminal court in November 2005 and transferred to civilian custody as the government sought to avoid a Supreme Court hearing on his challenge to his detention.

Prosecutors told jurors that Padilla attended an al-Qaeda terrorism-training camp in Afghanistan in 2000. The central piece of evidence against him was what prosecutors described as a ``mujahedeen data form'' bearing his fingerprints, which they said he filled out to attend the training facility.

During the two-week sentencing hearing, prosecutors released a document they said was a graduation list from an al-Qaeda training camp containing Padilla's Arabic name. Prosecutors said Padilla's name was identified too late for the form to be introduced during the trial.

``I do not find proof that he graduated from a training camp,'' Cooke said today, saying there were ``mistakes in the spelling of names.''

The case is U.S. v. Hassoun et al., 04cr60001, U.S. District Court in Miami.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mort Lucoff in U.S. District Court in Miami at

Last Updated: January 22, 2008 14:02 EST