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Libya plot to assassinate crown prince saudi arabia Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/15/alamoudi.sentence/http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/15/alamoudi.sentence/
Muslim leader jailed in Libya plot
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A prominent American Muslim leader who admitted playing a role in a Libyan plot to assassinate the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was sentenced Friday to 23 years in prison for related financial crimes.
Abdurahman Alamoudi told the judge before he was sentenced, "I regret my involvement in everything illegal I have done."
U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton handed down the lengthy sentence despite a last-minute plea by Alamoudi's attorneys to show leniency because he had played only a "minimal" role in the abortive assassination plot.
U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty termed the sentence "a victory in the war against terrorism."
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the government expects to gain important information from Alamoudi.
"A terrorist facilitator has been sentenced to jail and we have reason to expect that through his cooperation we will obtain intelligence that will assist us in our ongoing efforts to advance these critical investigations," Ashcroft said.
Alamoudi pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegal financial transactions with Libya, including violating a travel ban to the country, which the United States considers a state sponsor of terrorism.
Alamoudi agreed to forfeit at least $910,000 from his illegal dealings with Libya, and pleaded guilty to impeding an Internal Revenue Service investigation and illegally obtaining U.S. citizenship. Alamoudi, 52, is a native of Eritrea who became a U.S. citizen in 1996.
He was not directly charged in the alleged assassination plot. But in court documents he admitted contacting Saudi dissidents for Libyan officials who wanted the dissidents to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah.
The extent of Alamoudi's role in the alleged assassination plot was an issue in the sentencing. The government acknowledged that role was "minor," because Alamoudi was not a trigger person and didn't develop or finance the plot.
However, the government said the conspiracy could not have happened without Alamoudi because he introduced Libyan officials to Saudi expatriates who were angry with the government of Saudi Arabia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ward said, "The best possible spin he can put on this is that he saw an opportunity to make a buck in a murder-for-hire plot. His action was so base, so reprehensible he deserves every day this court will impose upon him."
Alamoudi's attorney, Stanley Cohen, attempted to portray his client as one who didn't realize what he was getting involved in.
"He walked into a situation, unknowing and unwitting largely. By the time he came up for air, circumstances had gone to places that to this day he still doesn't understand how or why," Cohen said.
Cohen also asked the judge to consider the U.S. relationship with Libya has markedly improved, and that Libya is no longer considered an enemy.
He pleaded for the lowest possible penalty, slightly less than ten years.
"The Libya relationship shouldn't be considered in the sentencing," Ward replied.
Cohen said Alamoudi hoped to be back before Hilton in one year, arguing that his client's cooperation with the government should prompt a reconsideration of the sentence.
Alamoudi is the founder and former executive director of the American Muslim Council, founder of the American Muslim Foundation and an influential member of the Islamic community in the nation's capital.
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