An American Muslim who grew up in the wealthy Boston suburb of Sudbury was sentenced Thursday to 17 1/2 years in prison after giving an impassioned speech in which he declared his love for Islam and predicted one day his trial would be viewed differently. This affluent American Muslim gives the lie to the "poverty" or "cultural" meme that the media loves to cop-out to when it comes to trying to explain jihad. They will blame anyone and anything except the actual motive behind jihad.
Prosecutors asked for a 25-year prison sentence, saying he lived a "double life," appearing as a "dutiful and scholarly young man" to his family and community, but in reality, he "was a proponent of violence as a means of achieving political goals." Chakravarty lodged an objection to the 17 1/2-year sentence imposed by O'Toole.
This goes to the heart of the problem, the ignorance of law enforcement. Mehanna didn't lead a double life. Being a "dutiful and scholarly young Muslim" means being a "a proponent of violence as a means of achieving political Islamic goals."
And this misunderstanding of Islam confuses and misinforms. Take this clueless and pathetic juror.
And, she added, “Do I think locking someone up for 17 and a half years is the answer? No.’’Richards, providing the first public glimpse into what it was like to sit as a juror in the high-profile case, described some of the personal struggles she endured during the nine-week trial and in the months since.
She wrestled with trying to balance the application of law and the judge’s instructions against the human emotions the case triggered.
To her, this much was clear: Mehanna was a young radical obsessed with violence, and the concept of jihad, or holy war, against US soldiers. He went to Yemen in 2004 in search of a training camp. When he could not find one, he returned with a deliberate campaign to promote Al Qaeda’s ideology, by translating and distributing documents and videos. Gruesome, horrifying videos.
The jurors took their task of determining his guilt seriously, going over O’Toole’s instructions dozens of times, deliberating for 10 hours, to make sure they were doing it right, she said. And in applying the law, they had no choice but to find him guilty.
Jurors wept over their decision, she said.
She could not look up when the verdict was read Dec. 20. She still recalls the cries of Mehanna’s mother, Souad.
Richards, a jeweler and a mother of two sons and a daughter, also knew this much: Mehanna, who is about the same age as one of her sons, was young at the time. He was smart, but had what she called an immature, corrupted view of his religion.
“I wish Tarek Mehanna could have used his talents, his education, to actually help Muslim people,’’ she said. “When did jihad, as they say, ever help anyone?’’
When Mehanna’s mother, Souad, found out why Richards had come to the court Thursday - because she wanted to tell the judge that he shouldn’t stay in prison any longer - the two embraced quickly.
Souad touched her arm, Richards said, and asked, “How could you do this to my son?’’
Richards replied, “I didn’t do this to your son.’’
Juror Richards wanted to tell the judge to release this jihadist. Clearly, her children weren't in the Trade Centers or the Pentagon on 911. Such pathos is without equal.
Mass. man given 17 1/2 years on terror counts Associated Press
BOSTON – A Massachusetts man convicted of conspiring to help al-Qaida was sentenced Thursday to 17 1/2 years in prison after giving an impassioned speech in which he declared his love for Islam and predicted one day his trial would be viewed differently.
Tarek Mehanna, 29, an American who grew up in the wealthy Boston suburb of Sudbury, was found guilty in December of traveling to Yemen to seek training in a terrorist camp with the intention of going on to Iraq to fight U.S. soldiers there. Prosecutors said that when that plan failed, Mehanna returned to the United States and began translating and disseminating materials online promoting violent jihad.
"In your eyes I'm a terrorist. I'm the only one standing here in an orange jumpsuit," Mehanna said in U.S. District Court in Boston. He later added: "America will change and recognize this trial for what it is."
Mehanna was sentenced on four terror-related charges and three counts of lying to authorities. His family and supporters gave him a standing ovation and called out "we love you" as he was led from the courtroom.
During the sentencing hearing, Mehanna gave a sweep of history and compared the suffering experienced by Muslims at the hands of Americans to the oppression inflicted on American colonists by the British. He mentioned Paul Revere, Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela, among others, and said he came to appreciate the plight of the oppressed against their oppressors as a 6-year-old boy reading comic books.
At times, he held up the picture of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who had been raped by an American soldier and asked how anyone could not be angry about something like that.
How does Mehanna reconcile the marriage of Muhammad to a six-year-old and her subsequent rape?
"This is not terrorism. It's self-defense," he said.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz called Mehanna's remarks "disingenuous" and said he came across as angry and defiant.
"Trust me. Tarek Mehanna is no Nelson Mandela," Ortiz said.
Mehanna also suggested he was approached about becoming a government informant, recounting how he was told he had "to make a choice" during an encounter he had four years ago while leaving a hospital where he was working.
"I could do things the easy way or I could do things the hard way," Mehanna recalled being told. He later added: "The hard way is what you see before you."
As Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke S. Chakravarty offered a rebuttal at the conclusion of Mehanna's remarks, Mehanna called him a liar and told him to sit down. The judge then called a recess.
Ortiz said there's no evidence that Mehanna was approached about becoming an informant.
U.S. District Court Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. said Mehanna had become consumed with his religion in a way that was both admirable and horrifying.
"I'm frankly concerned about the defendant's apparent absence of remorse," O'Toole said.
How could there be remorse if he was consumed with Islam?
Mehanna had faced up to life in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
Prosecutors asked for a 25-year prison sentence, saying he lived a "double life," appearing as a "dutiful and scholarly young man" to his family and community, but in reality, he "was a proponent of violence as a means of achieving political goals." Chakravarty lodged an objection to the 17 1/2-year sentence imposed by O'Toole.
Defense lawyers sought a maximum sentence of 6 1/2 years. The defense says it plans to appeal Mehanna's conviction.
"It was hypocritical in my opinion for the government to characterize Tarek as such a dangerous man to the United States," said defense attorney J.W. Carney Jr.
He recounted how federal authorities monitored Mehanna for years without arresting him.
Yes, exactly like Muhammad Merah, the devout Muslim in France who mowed down little Jewish kids at a Jewish day school France.
