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Georgia man gets 17 years in terror-related case
By Ashley Hayes, CNN
December 14, 2009 2:14 p.m. EST
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- After delivering a rambling monologue on Islam for nearly an hour, a Georgia man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison Monday for supporting terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization.
"This is not about your faith," U.S. District Judge William Duffey Jr. told Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, of the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, in imposing his sentence. "This is about your conduct. This is about the rule of law in this country that you have decided does not apply to you."
Given an opportunity to speak before sentencing, Sadequee delivered a sermon of sorts on the true nature of Islam and God's vengeance on those who contradict his will, quoting from the Bible and the Quran and breaking into songs in what appeared to be Arabic several times.
Duffey stopped Sadequee after about 25 minutes, telling him the purpose of his statement was to provide the judge with factors to consider in sentencing him.
"My intention is to bring the message of God and his greatness and his wisdom and his purpose to speak about that, and that is completely related to me," said Sadequee, who represented himself at sentencing but was advised by attorneys. The small man in his mid-20s was bearded and wearing glasses, beige jail scrubs and a crocheted cap.
"In my speech, I have not and will not request for any sentencing because it does not matter to me ... I have intended to speak about who is in fact the true authority and why I am here to begin with," Sadequee said. "So I'm here, as I was saying, because I submit to no one's authority but the authority of God."
Sadequee, a Virginia native of Bangladeshi descent, sent an e-mail seeking to join the Taliban in its fight against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan in 2001 while he was living in Bangladesh, prosecutors have said.
In 2004 and 2005, Sadequee -- then living in Georgia -- "entered an illegal agreement ... with others to provide material support to terrorists engaged in violent jihad," authorities said in a statement following his conviction.
His accused co-conspirator, former Georgia Tech student Syed Haris Ahmed, is scheduled to be sentenced later Monday. He was convicted in June of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism. Ahmed faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and supervised parole for life, authorities have said.
Ahmed and Sadequee were charged in the same indictment. Authorities alleged the two traveled to Canada in March 2005 to meet with three other co-conspirators they found online.
While in Canada, federal prosecutors have said, the men talked about their plans to go to Pakistan "to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization ... as preparation for engaging in violent jihad abroad or in the United States."
They also discussed potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States, according to prosecutors.
Authorities also have contended that Sadequee and Ahmed made casing videos of landmarks in the Washington area, such as the U.S. Capitol, the World Bank building and a Masonic temple.
The videos were found on the hard drives of at least two men who were convicted on terrorism charges in the United Kingdom. According to prosecutors, those two men were found to possess a large quantity of "violent jihad materials."
In one of those videos, Duffey said, Sadequee discusses, while driving past the Pentagon, "what your brothers had done on 9/11" with no regard for or remorse over the innocent people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. In fact, Duffey said, Sadequee has never shown any remorse for any of his actions.
Sadequee asked Duffey for "less than two hours" to complete his speech, which he said ran to more than 40 pages. Duffey refused but allowed him 20 more minutes to speak. Sadequee, however, took a half-hour to complete his remarks.
Before imposing the sentence, Duffey delivered a scathing indictment of Sadequee's conduct, saying he had hid behind the rule of law and attempted to paint his conduct as free speech.
"You use our country to advance your self-interest and your distorted view of the world," Duffey said, telling Sadequee his conduct posed a threat to innocent people wishing only to live in peace, and that he and others twist their faith to justify violence. While he has a right to reject America and its values, the judge said, Sadequee does not have a right to engage in conduct that puts others at risk.
"If there's any contradiction to God's will, you are it," Duffey said, later adding, "Our Gods are very different."
Sadequee also refused to stand so Duffey could impose sentence, saying according to the Quran, "man rises for God."
After Sadequee's release from prison, he will be subject to 30 years of supervised release, Duffey said. During that period, he is not allowed to use any device to connect to the Internet. He may have a computer provided that the Internet is disabled, the judge said.
Sadequee faced a maximum of 60 years in prison. However, prosecutors only recommended a sentence of 20 years, citing factors including Sadequee's young age.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney told Duffey that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to Sadequee as well as those who might follow him -- and teach him that if he wants to change the system in the United States, there are other means of doing so.
During Sadequee's statement, a woman thought to be his mother was escorted from the courtroom after she began speaking in another language.
Asked for comment after sentencing, Sadequee's sister, Sonali, told reporters the family would speak later.
The judge told Sadequee he found it interesting that the defendant had distorted the character of Superman into the anti-Christ, but later, upon reflection, remembered that Superman represented "truth, justice and the American way."
"These values," Duffey said, "are your anti-Christ."
Georgia man gets 17 years in terror-related case - CNN.com
By Ashley Hayes, CNN
December 14, 2009 2:14 p.m. EST
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- After delivering a rambling monologue on Islam for nearly an hour, a Georgia man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison Monday for supporting terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization.
"This is not about your faith," U.S. District Judge William Duffey Jr. told Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, of the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, in imposing his sentence. "This is about your conduct. This is about the rule of law in this country that you have decided does not apply to you."
Given an opportunity to speak before sentencing, Sadequee delivered a sermon of sorts on the true nature of Islam and God's vengeance on those who contradict his will, quoting from the Bible and the Quran and breaking into songs in what appeared to be Arabic several times.
Duffey stopped Sadequee after about 25 minutes, telling him the purpose of his statement was to provide the judge with factors to consider in sentencing him.
"My intention is to bring the message of God and his greatness and his wisdom and his purpose to speak about that, and that is completely related to me," said Sadequee, who represented himself at sentencing but was advised by attorneys. The small man in his mid-20s was bearded and wearing glasses, beige jail scrubs and a crocheted cap.
"In my speech, I have not and will not request for any sentencing because it does not matter to me ... I have intended to speak about who is in fact the true authority and why I am here to begin with," Sadequee said. "So I'm here, as I was saying, because I submit to no one's authority but the authority of God."
Sadequee, a Virginia native of Bangladeshi descent, sent an e-mail seeking to join the Taliban in its fight against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan in 2001 while he was living in Bangladesh, prosecutors have said.
In 2004 and 2005, Sadequee -- then living in Georgia -- "entered an illegal agreement ... with others to provide material support to terrorists engaged in violent jihad," authorities said in a statement following his conviction.
His accused co-conspirator, former Georgia Tech student Syed Haris Ahmed, is scheduled to be sentenced later Monday. He was convicted in June of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism. Ahmed faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and supervised parole for life, authorities have said.
Ahmed and Sadequee were charged in the same indictment. Authorities alleged the two traveled to Canada in March 2005 to meet with three other co-conspirators they found online.
While in Canada, federal prosecutors have said, the men talked about their plans to go to Pakistan "to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization ... as preparation for engaging in violent jihad abroad or in the United States."
They also discussed potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States, according to prosecutors.
Authorities also have contended that Sadequee and Ahmed made casing videos of landmarks in the Washington area, such as the U.S. Capitol, the World Bank building and a Masonic temple.
The videos were found on the hard drives of at least two men who were convicted on terrorism charges in the United Kingdom. According to prosecutors, those two men were found to possess a large quantity of "violent jihad materials."
In one of those videos, Duffey said, Sadequee discusses, while driving past the Pentagon, "what your brothers had done on 9/11" with no regard for or remorse over the innocent people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. In fact, Duffey said, Sadequee has never shown any remorse for any of his actions.
Sadequee asked Duffey for "less than two hours" to complete his speech, which he said ran to more than 40 pages. Duffey refused but allowed him 20 more minutes to speak. Sadequee, however, took a half-hour to complete his remarks.
Before imposing the sentence, Duffey delivered a scathing indictment of Sadequee's conduct, saying he had hid behind the rule of law and attempted to paint his conduct as free speech.
"You use our country to advance your self-interest and your distorted view of the world," Duffey said, telling Sadequee his conduct posed a threat to innocent people wishing only to live in peace, and that he and others twist their faith to justify violence. While he has a right to reject America and its values, the judge said, Sadequee does not have a right to engage in conduct that puts others at risk.
"If there's any contradiction to God's will, you are it," Duffey said, later adding, "Our Gods are very different."
Sadequee also refused to stand so Duffey could impose sentence, saying according to the Quran, "man rises for God."
After Sadequee's release from prison, he will be subject to 30 years of supervised release, Duffey said. During that period, he is not allowed to use any device to connect to the Internet. He may have a computer provided that the Internet is disabled, the judge said.
Sadequee faced a maximum of 60 years in prison. However, prosecutors only recommended a sentence of 20 years, citing factors including Sadequee's young age.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney told Duffey that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to Sadequee as well as those who might follow him -- and teach him that if he wants to change the system in the United States, there are other means of doing so.
During Sadequee's statement, a woman thought to be his mother was escorted from the courtroom after she began speaking in another language.
Asked for comment after sentencing, Sadequee's sister, Sonali, told reporters the family would speak later.
The judge told Sadequee he found it interesting that the defendant had distorted the character of Superman into the anti-Christ, but later, upon reflection, remembered that Superman represented "truth, justice and the American way."
"These values," Duffey said, "are your anti-Christ."
Georgia man gets 17 years in terror-related case - CNN.com
