JOIN USAn appeals court had overturned the original 30-year sentence for Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 28, who was born in Houston and grew up in the Washington suburb of Falls Church.
He was convicted in 2005 of joining al-Qaeda while studying in Saudi Arabia in 2002. Abu Ali met with top al-Qaeda leaders in Saudi Arabia and discussed establishing a sleeper cell in the US.
“I would like to remind you that you too will appear before the divine tribunal with me and everyone else,” he said in a brief statement to US District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.
“That day there will be no lawyers... If you are comfortable with that, you can decree what you wish.”
Last year, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ordered a new sentencing hearing, saying Lee’s original sentence was too lenient.
The appeals court ruled Lee was off the mark in comparing Abu Ali’s case with that of “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh, who made a plea deal and was sentenced to 20 years. The appeals court said Abu Ali’s conduct was far worse — he joined al-Qaeda after the September 11, 2001 attacks, while Lindh joined prior to them, and Abu Ali specifically sought to attack the US, while Lindh only sought to fight in Afghanistan.