Padilla acted with terrorist aim, U.S. judge says

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda conspirator Jose Padilla deserves to serve at least 30 years in prison because he intended to influence foreign government actions, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said the one-time "dirty bomb" suspect met the criteria for sentencing under a "terrorism enhancement" provision that stiffens the penalty if a crime was committed with the intent to retaliate against, coerce or intimidate a government.

Padilla, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, now faces 30 years to life in prison in a case the U.S. government has said was a crucial reminder of the terrorist threat America faces.

A former street gang member, Padilla was arrested in May 2002 and held for three-and-a-half years without charge as an "enemy combatant" but was later charged with unrelated crimes and turned over to civilian authorities.

Padilla and two co-defendants were convicted in August on charges of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people abroad, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, and providing material support for terrorism.

They were not accused of committing violence, but the jury found they provided money and recruits for Islamist fighters who waged war for years in Kosovo, Somalia, Chechnya and Afghanistan with the aim of ousting existing governments and installing strict Muslim rule.

Tuesday's ruling came in a sentencing hearing that lasted over a week.

'BIT PLAYER'

Padilla's lawyers, who declined to comment on the ruling, had argued that even if Padilla was guilty, he was at most a bit player who deserved less than 10 years in prison.

The government's main evidence against him was an application to attend an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.

Cooke ruled that in convicting Padilla, the jury rejected defense claims that he had gone to peacefully study Islam and found him to be an al Qaeda recruit.

"He was an instrument of the scheme itself ... he responded to the call to go overseas," the judge said.

Prosecutors had argued that Padilla deserves life in prison because al Qaeda could not commit atrocities without the foot soldiers it trained as killers.

The judge also found that two co-defendants, Adham Hassoun and Kifah Jayyousi, were eligible for tougher sentences under the terrorism enhancement provision, so they too could be sentenced to life in prison.

Hassoun, a 45-year-old Lebanese-born Palestinian computer programmer was accused of recruiting jihadists, or holy warriors -- including Padilla -- at a Florida mosque. Jayyousi, a 46-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Jordan and U.S. Navy veteran, wrote a newsletter that denounced atrocities against Muslims.