Al-Qaeda Spokesman’s U.S. Plea Deal Approved by Judge
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A former al-Qaeda spokesman’s guilty plea on terrorism charges was accepted by a judge who initially criticized a provision for a 10-year prison term as too lenient.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan held off approving the plea at a Sept. 19 hearing in Manhattan. He expressed concern that Adel Abdel Bary, 54, facing multiple terrorism counts tied to the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, would serve less than 10 years. Some of the initial charges, related to the 224 people killed in the attacks, carried mandatory life terms.