NEW YORK: A New York jury has convicted British hate preacher Abu Hamza on 11 kidnapping and terrorism charges, opening the way for a judge to impose what will almost certainly be a life sentence.
The hook-handed imam showed no reaction as the guilty verdict was returned on all counts following a four-week trial.
Judge Katherine Forrest will return to the Manhattan courtroom on September 9 to sentence Abu Hamza, 56, and wrap up what was the second high-profile terror trial in New York in three months.
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, better known in Britain as Abu Hamza Al Masri, was charged with the 1998 abduction of Western tourists in Yemen, providing material support to Al Qaeda, assisting the Taliban and sending terror recruits to Afghanistan.
Of the 16 tourists that were kidnapped, four were killed.
It took the 12-member jury just 12 hours over two days to reach the unanimous verdict.
One member of the jury, who did not want to disclose his identity, said they tried to follow the judge’s guidelines in reaching a verdict. The Yemen counts were “easier” to decide, the juror said, describing Abu Hamza’s views on 9/11 as “very disturbing.”
Abu Hamza’s defence lawyer Jeremy Schneider vowed to appeal, questioning the speed of the jury’s deliberations and said they had “focused on his words, not on his acts.”
In the hostage-taking, Abu Hamza was found guilty of providing the Islamist kidnappers with a satellite phone, acting as an intermediary and dispensing advice by telephone from home.
The jury also convicted him of trying to set up a terror training camp in Oregon in 1999 and, from his London base, of promoting “violent jihad” on a global scale.
Abu Hamza denied all the charges, though he acknowledged he occasionally used strong words in his sermons and fiery speeches.
AFP
