Four members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network were jailed for life Thursday amid intense security at a New York court for their role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa.
The men were sentenced at a court in Manhattan just three blocks from the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed by a terrorist attack September 11 which the US government blames on bin Laden.
The four -- a Jordanian, a Saudi, a Tanzanian and an American born in Lebanon -- were convicted of involvement in the August 7, 1998 bomb attacks by a jury in May and sentenced Thursday by Judge Leonard Sand.
US Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately hailed the verdicts as a victory over terrorism and vowed to bring those suspects still at large to justice.
"Al-Qaeda stands charged, tried, convicted and sentenced for terrorism," Ashcroft told reporters.
But while hailing the verdict, from the State Department, spokesman Philip Reeker injected a warning that the fight against terror was not over.
"I want to stress once again that the United States will not consider the case closed until all of those responsible for these brutal attacks are brought to justice for their crimes," Reeker said.
Roads approaching the court complex were blocked off by police roadblocks and metal barricades, while dozens of US marshals toting sub-machine guns and pump-action shotguns were patrolling around the courthouse.
Two men, Jordanian Mohamed Saddiq Odeh and American Wadih el-Hage, exercised their right to address the court before sentencing but neither of them made any comments in support of bin Laden.
The two-hour proceedings opened with heart-rending testimony from six family members of victims of the bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which killed 224 people including 12 Americans.
"The carnage of September 11 only exacerbated my memories. You have to apply the full extent of the law to send an unambiguous message to future terrorists," said Howard Cavaler, who lost his wife in the Nairobi blast.
Before passing sentence on Tanzanian Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 28, Judge Sand said: "Three members of the jury stated that life imprisonment is harsher than the death penalty."
The jury declined to recommend the death penalty for the two prisoners convicted of the most serious charges, Mohamed and Saudi Mohamed Rashid Daoud al-Owhali, 24, for fear of turning them into martyrs.
Jordanian Mohamed Saddiq Odeh, 36, and American Wadih el-Hage, 41, were convicted of conspiracy charges which carried a maximum of life.
The judge ordered the four to pay 33 million dollars in collective damages to the families of the victims. If any money could be recovered, the judge said a further 26.3 million should be paid to the US government.
Speaking in Arabic and aided by a translator, Mohamed Odeh launched into a confusing speech in which he described the missile attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan immediately after the embassy bombings as a form of justice. He said the United States was now trying the same crime twice.
Speaking in perfect English learned during 20 years in the United States, el-Hage reiterated his line of defence throughout the trial that he worked in the legal part of al-Qaeda and was opposed to violence.
"The bombings of '98 were extreme action, not in accordance with what I believe. Today my opinion is the same, even to what happened here last month. I did not participate in extreme actions," he said.
The four men were dressed in light blue shirts and trousers. They were shackled around the ankles and each guarded by four policemen.
Al-Owhali drove the bomb vehicle up to the embassy gates in Nairobi and threw stun grenades at guards, while Kalfan Khanis Mohammed helped to build the bomb used in the attack on the embassy in Tanzania.
Prosecutors said el-Hage raised funds and smuggled weapons for al-Qaeda while Odeh was an explosives expert who gave advice to the embassy bombing group.
A total of 22 people have been indicted for the embassy bombings, including bin Laden. Six are in custody in the United States and three in Britain, and there is a five million dollar reward for the remaining 13 -- New York, (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
