Jose Padilla and Co-Defendants Sentenced on Terrorism Charges

MIAMI, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal Judge in the Southern
District of Florida has sentenced Jose Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun, and Kifah
Wael Jayyousi on charges of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim individuals
in a foreign country, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists,
and providing material support to terrorists, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant
Attorney General for National Security, and R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of Florida, announced today.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke sentenced Padilla to a term of 208 months
imprisonment; Hassoun to a term of 188 months imprisonment; and Jayyousi to a
term of 152 months imprisonment.

"I want to thank the many attorneys and staff, both prosecution and defense,
as well as judicial officers, who worked diligently on this prosecution.
Their efforts often go unrecognized, yet it is their work that helps ensure
justice in our nation," said U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta.

"I applaud the professionalism and perseverance of the many agents,
investigators and prosecutors who worked so tirelessly to bring this case to a
successful conclusion. Thanks to their efforts, the defendants' North
American support cell has been dismantled and can no longer send money and
jihadist recruits to conflicts overseas," said Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant
Attorney General for National Security.

The defendants were charged in an 11-count superseding indictment returned on
Nov. 17, 2005. The jury found the defendants guilty of being part of a North
American support cell designed to send money, physical assets, and mujahideen
recruits to overseas jihad conflicts. The cell operated from many cities in
the United States and Canada, and supported and coordinated with other support
networks and mujahideen groups waging violent jihad.

The jury found that Padilla traveled overseas to receive violent jihad
training and to fight violent jihad, which would include acts of murder,
kidnapping and maiming, from October 1993 to November 2001. On July 24, 2000,
Padilla filled out a "Mujahideen Data Form" in preparation for violent jihad
training in Afghanistan.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the
Department of Homeland Security.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Frazier, Russell
Killinger and John Shipley of the Southern District of Florida, and Trial
Attorney Stephanie Pell of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice
Department's National Security Division.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S.
Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at
www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found
on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at
www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice, +1-202-514-2007, TDD +1-202-514-1888