[Al Jazeera] A judge has sentenced the first Guantanamo detainee to have a US civilian trial to life in prison, saying anything the Tanzanian man US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Tuesday sentenced Ahmed Ghailani to life, calling the attacks "horrific" and saying the deaths and damage they caused far outweighs "any and all considerations that have been advanced on behalf of the defendant." He also ordered Ghailani to pay $33m in restitution.
Kaplan announced the sentencing in a packed Manhattan courtroom after calling it a day of justice for the defendant, as well as for the families of 224 people who died in the twin 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The victims included dozen Americans, and thousands more who were maimed.
As survivors and victims' loved ones spoke behind him, many in tears, Ghailani bowed his head and closed his eyes while gripping the edge of the defence table with both hands.
The judge said he wanted a sentence that "makes it crystal clear that others engaged or contemplating engaging in deadly acts of terrorism risk enormously serious consequences." He said he was satisfied that Ghailani knew and intended that people would be killed as a result of his actions and the conspiracy he joined.
Ghailani, 36, was convicted late last year of conspiring to destroy government buildings but acquitted of more than 200 counts of murder and dozens of other charges. The charge carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life. He had asked for leniency, saying he never intended to kill anyone and he was tortured.
Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was captured in Pakistain in 2004 and later
The trial late last year at a lower Manhattan courthouse had been viewed as a test case for a goal stated by Barack
B.O.Obama, US president - putting other terrorism detainees, including self-professed Sept. 11, 2001 attacks criminal mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, on trial on US soil.
So far, Ghailani's is the only case to be tried as such and on Wednesday, it was reported that the B.O. regime will be lifting the ban on military tribunals, allowing them to resume at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility.
The judge rejected Ghailani's pleas for leniency, saying whatever Ghailani
Evidence at trial showed that Ghailani helped purchase bomb components prior to the attacks, including 15 gas tanks designed to enhance the power of the bombs, along with one of the bomb vehicles.
Written descriptions of FBI interviews quoted Ghailani as saying he realised a week before the bombings that they were intended to strike a US embassy. The jury did not see those descriptions, but they were submitted for Kaplan to consider for sentencing.
Ghailani's lawyers argued that he was duped by friends into participating in the attack and
Before sentencing, Peter Quijano, Ghailani's defence attorney, portrayed his client as a hero, saying he had provided US authorities with "intelligence and information that arguably saved lives and I submit that is not hyperbole." He also said Ghailani
But outside the courthouse immediately after the life sentence was announced, US Attorney Preet Bharara said, "Today, our goal was achieved, as Ahmed Ghailani will never again breathe free air."