Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
International

Canadian Who Plotted New York City Attacks Appeals Conviction, 40-Year Sentence

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Dec, 2019 11:01 PM
  • Canadian Who Plotted New York City Attacks Appeals Conviction, 40-Year Sentence

TORONTO - The conviction and 40-year prison sentence for a young mentally ill Canadian who plotted terrorist attacks in New York City should be set aside, his lawyer argues in a new appeal brief.

 

The brief on behalf of Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy argues that the trial judge violated his rights, and the sentence handed down to him last December was unreasonably harsh.

 

"The District Court's sentence of Bahnasawy to 40 years in the custody of an agency that indisputably could not provide him proper care was substantively unreasonable, shocking and at odds with American ideals of fair punishment," the brief states.

 

"In relegating the young and impaired Bahnasawy to a virtual life in prison without proper care, the District Court gave lip service, but little more, to all of the mitigating factors that compelled a humane sentence."

 

Canadian prisons provide the kind of mental health care that inmates like El Bahnasawy need, while the U.S. Bureau of Prisons does not, according to the factum filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

 

Court records show El Bahnasawy was a 17-year-old living at home in Mississauga, Ont., when he met an undercover FBI agent online. The defence argued the agent encouraged him to plan attacks on the Big Apple, while prosecutors maintained the plot was well underway before the two connected.

 

The FBI, with help from the RCMP, arrested the then-18-year-old El Bahnasawy at a hotel on the outskirts of New York in May 2016. Investigators said he had bought bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of the city for the purpose of building explosive devices.

 

El Bahnasawy pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in District Court for the Southern District of New York later in 2016. The plans involved conspirators arrested in Pakistan and the Philippines and called for attacks on the New York subway and Times Square.

 

The appeal brief argues that Judge Richard Berman was wrong to ignore El Bahnasawy's right to lawyers of his choice. Despite months of prevarication, the brief states, the young Canadian ultimately told the judge he wanted to be represented by private lawyers, rather than legal-aid lawyers, who wanted to step down.

 

Berman, however, ordered both sets of lawyers to be "equally responsible" for defending him. That decision, his lawyers now argue, undermined any challenge to the guilty plea he had entered on advice of his public lawyers, and violated his constitutional right to counsel of his choice.

 

The submission by lawyer Andrew Frisch decries the lengthy sentence Berman imposed despite evidence about El Bahnasawy's youth, mental illness and severe addictions. The judge, who said the risk of a repeat offence was high, ignored El Bahnasawy's treatment progress and disavowal of violence, his lawyer says.

 

"The true risk of a sentence of 40 years on this especially robust record is not that the maturing Bahnasawy might one day conspire again, but that we do irreparable harm to the ideals most likely to keep us safe," Frisch states.

 

In a letter previously filed with the District Court, El Bahnasawy said he was motivated by American air strikes in the Middle East and expressed regret.

 

"There are many issues in this world but I don't want to lose my life or freedom to try fixing them, and I definitely do not want to resort to violence or harm to fix them," El Bahnasawy wrote. "I sincerely apologize for my (behaviour) and I only ask for a second chance."

 

MORE International ARTICLES

Indian-Origin Brothers Manjinder Singh Thakhar And Davinder Singh Thakhar Plead Guilty To Smuggling Drugs In Chickens In UK

Two Indian-origin brothers have pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group, which was involved in smuggling millions of pounds worth of illegal drugs into the UK via a series of front companies linked with the importation of chicken from the Netherlands.

Indian-Origin Brothers Manjinder Singh Thakhar And Davinder Singh Thakhar Plead Guilty To Smuggling Drugs In Chickens In UK

VIDEOS: ’Terror Incident' On London Bridge Again, 2 Dead, Several Stabbed, Suspect Shot Dead

Several people were stabbed on the London Bridge on Friday afternoon in a terror incident and the suspected attacker was shot dead by the police on the spot

VIDEOS: ’Terror Incident' On London Bridge Again, 2 Dead, Several Stabbed, Suspect Shot Dead

Pak Officials Outside London Court Try To Thwart Dawood Aide Extradition To US

Pak Officials Outside London Court Try To Thwart Dawood Aide Extradition To US
In the high-profile extradition case of Jabir Motiwala, a top D-company aide, the Westminster Magistrates' Court here has sought details of terror linkages of Dawood Ibrahim with his aide.

Pak Officials Outside London Court Try To Thwart Dawood Aide Extradition To US

Pakistan SC Extends Bajwa's Tenure As Army Chief For Six Months

The Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday, in a short order, ruledthat Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa will remain the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) for another six months, during which the parliament will legislate on extension of an army chief's tenure.    

Pakistan SC Extends Bajwa's Tenure As Army Chief For Six Months

250 Indian Students Arrested In Fake Varsity Sting Op In US

250 Indian Students Arrested In Fake Varsity Sting Op In US
A total of about 250 students, mostly from India, have been arrested in a sting operation by US immigration officials who set up a fake university in sting operation, according to media reports.    

250 Indian Students Arrested In Fake Varsity Sting Op In US

UK Government Lauds ‘Remarkable’ Rise In Indians Getting Student Visas

UK Government Lauds ‘Remarkable’ Rise In Indians Getting Student Visas
The latest statistics released by the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that 30,550 Indian students received a Tier 4 Study Visa for the year ending September 2019, up from nearly 18,730 the previous year.  

UK Government Lauds ‘Remarkable’ Rise In Indians Getting Student Visas