Two breaking stories this evening cover the legal aftermath of two violent plots motivated by radical Islam–one foiled, and one unfortunately not.
The first comes from Germany, where a man who killed U.S. servicemen, claiming Brian de Palma’s “Redacted” motivated him, was sentenced to life in prison with no guarantee of parole after 15 years, as is common for German prisoners.
From AFP:
A German court sentenced a Kosovo man to life on Friday for killing two US soldiers and attempting to kill three more at Frankfurt airport last March in Germany’s first deadly jihadist attack.
Presiding judge Thomas Sagebiel said 22-year-old Arid Uka — who was born in Kosovo but brought up in Germany — was found guilty on two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder when he opened fire on March 2 last year on a group of US soldiers on their way to serve in Afghanistan.
“The degree of guilt is particularly grave,” Sagebiel said, which means Uka is unlikely to be released early after 15 years.
“Yes, this is indeed the first Islamic-motivated terror strike to have happened in Germany,” the judge said.
Read the rest of the story here.
The next story comes from the United States, where a plot to assassinate the President was allegedly ordered by a foreign terrorist organization.
From the Associated Press:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – A man from Uzbekistan who pleaded guilty Friday to plotting to kill President Barack Obama with an automatic rifle claimed he was acting at the direction of an Islamic terror group in his home country.
Authorities said Ulugbek Kodirov had discussed trying to kill the president as he campaigned for re-election because he would be out in public more often. Kodirov entered the plea during a hearing in Birmingham before U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon, an Obama appointee.
Defense attorney Lance Bell said the 22-year-old Kodirov avoided a potential life sentence by pleading guilty. He faces up to 30 years in prison, though Bell expected Kodirov to receive about half that. The judge also told Kodirov that he will face deportation once he’s released from prison.
Kodirov pleaded guilty to three counts: Threatening to kill the president, possessing an automatic weapon, and providing material support to terrorists. Four other charges were dropped as part of the deal.
The plea agreement said that in July 2011, Kodirov claimed he had been communicating with a person known as “the Emir.” Kodirov said the person was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Authorities did not reveal the identity of the Emir.
The Emir “asked Kodirov if there was anything Kodirov could do about President Obama since Kodirov was closer geographically to the president than the Emir,” according to his plea agreement.
Kodirov and a person who helped authorities discussed possible ways to kill Obama, including from long distance using a sniper rifle.
Read the rest of the story here.