Two Additional Defendants Sentenced for Conspiring to Kill U.S. Soldiers

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The remaining two men
convicted of plotting to kill members of the U.S. military during an armed
attack on a military base were sentenced today to federal prison terms of life
for one defendant and 33 years for the other for conspiring to kill members of
the U.S. military, Ralph J. Marra Jr., Acting U.S. Attorney for the District
of New Jersey; David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security;
and Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Division
of the FBI, announced.

U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler sentenced Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer to a
term of life in prison plus an additional, consecutive 30 years. Judge Kugler
sentenced Serdar Tatar to 33 years in prison. There is no parole in the
federal system.

Judge Kugler, who presided over a 12-week trial for the five defendants, also
ordered Shnewer and Tatar to pay $125,000 in restitution to the Department of
the Army for the costs of added security measures undertaken in response to
the plot.

Yesterday, Judge Kugler sentenced Dritan Duka and Shain Duka to prison terms
of life plus 30 years. The third brother, Eljvir Duka, received a life prison
term. The same $125,000 restitution order was imposed for them as well.

The case was tried by Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick
and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Hammer, Jr., Chief of the U.S.
Attorney's Office Counter-Terrorism Unit.

"The sentences are appropriate in each instance and we are pleased and
gratified by the results," said Marra. "Over the last few years, this
investigation and prosecution was of the highest priority for us and our law
enforcement partners. Now that the case is behind us, I want to commend the
trial attorneys, agents, investigators and all others who worked tirelessly to
keep our soldiers, civilian employees and military bases safe."

"The sentences handed down today, along with the sentences in this case
yesterday, reaffirm for all of us the value of the commitment we have made to
live free from the tyranny of fear," said Special Agent in Charge Janice K.
Fedarcyk, of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI. "The FBI's top priority is
to protect this nation from terrorism, and addressing threats of terrorist
acts quickly and aggressively is the only way to succeed in this important
mission."

"These sentences are the culmination of an extensive federal, state and local
law enforcement operation," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for
National Security. "While these defendants were not members of an
international terrorist organization, their homegrown plot to murder U.S.
military personnel at Fort Dix was no less serious or potentially deadly."

The defendants' arrests occurred on May 7, 2007, in Cherry Hill as Dritan and
Shain Duka were meeting a confidential government witness to purchase four
automatic M-16 rifles and three semi-automatic AK-47 rifles to be used in a
future attack on military personnel. The other defendants were arrested at
various locations at about the same time.

On Dec. 22, 2008, after 5 1/2 days of deliberations, a jury convicted the
three Duka brothers, Shnewer and Tatar on Count One of the seven-count
Superseding Indictment that charged them with conspiracy to murder members of
the U.S. military. The jury also convicted the Dukas and Shnewer of firearm
offenses, including possession of machine guns.

The evidence proved that one member of the group conducted surveillance at
Fort Dix and Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and
the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia. The co-conspirators obtained a detailed
map of Fort Dix, where they hoped to use assault rifles to kill as many
soldiers as possible, according to trial testimony and evidence.

During the trial, the jury viewed secretly recorded videotapes of the
defendants performing small-arms training at a shooting range in the Pocono
Mountains in Pennsylvania and watching training videos amongst themselves that
included depictions of American soldiers being killed and of known foreign
Islamic radicals urging jihad against the United States.

The defendants and the charges on which each was convicted are as follows:

Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 24, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of
the U.S. military, and the attempted possession of AK-47 semi-automatic
assault weapons to be used in the attack.

Dritan Duka, 30 of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S.
military; possession of machine guns; possession and attempted possession of
machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence; and two counts of
possession of firearms by an illegal alien.

Shain Duka, 28, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S.
military; possession of machine guns; possession and attempted possession of
machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence; and two counts of
possession of firearms by an illegal alien.

Eljvir Duka, 25, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S.
military, and possession of firearms by illegal aliens. The jury acquitted on
one count of possession and attempted possession of machine guns in
furtherance of a crime of violence.

Serdar Tatar, 25, of Philadelphia: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S.
military.

A sixth co-defendant, Agron Abdullahu, 26, of Buena Vista Township, Atlantic
County, pleaded guilty before Judge Kugler on Oct. 31, 2007, to aiding and
abetting the Duka brothers' illegal possession of weapons. Abdullahu was
arrested on May 7, 2007, along with the defendants convicted today. On March
31, 2008, Judge Kugler sentenced Abdullahu to 20 months in federal prison.

Marra and Kris credited the Special Agents of the FBI's Philadelphia Division
and the FBI South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of
Special Agent in Charge Fedarcyk, in Philadelphia, for investigation of the
case.

Marra, Kris and Fedarcyk also thanked investigators with member agencies of
the FBI South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, which comprises ICE's
Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John P.
Kelleghan, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of the
Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk, N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col.
Joseph "Rick" Fuentes, Superintendent, and the Delaware River Port Authority
Police, under the direction of Chief Dave McClintock, for their tireless
efforts on the investigation, and trial attorney John Van Lunkhuysen of the
Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's National Security
Division, for his trial preparation assistance.

Additionally, Marra, Kris and Fedarcyk would like to thank the following
agencies for their assistance and support: the U.S. military services at Fort
Dix, Fort Monmouth, Dover Air Force Base, the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia
and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, along with the Cherry Hill
Police Department, Mt. Laurel Police Department, Cherry Hill Fire Department,
Camden County Sheriff's Department, Philadelphia Police Department,
Pennsylvania State Police, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, and N.J.
Homeland Security.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

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