London Cleric Convicted in New York Terror Trial
An Egyptian Islamic cleric whose fiery sermons before and after Sept. 11 attracted extremists to his London mosque was convicted Monday by jurors who followed a trail of evidence linking him to a kidnapping in Yemen that killed four hostages and efforts to create an al-Qaida training camp in America.
The 56-year-old cleric, Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, was found guilty in federal court in Manhattan just weeks after al-Qaida’s spokesman after the Sept. 11 attacks was convicted. Attorney General Eric Holder championed both verdicts as a triumph for civil courts, saying “the debate over how to best seek justice in these cases is quietly being put to rest.”
Jury foreman Howard Bailynson said jurors kept emotions about terrorism away, following the facts and relying on layers of government witnesses linking Mustafa to the 1998 kidnapping, including proof that a satellite phone bought by Mustafa ended up in Yemen in the hands of the hostage-takers.