US jails Yemeni al-Qaeda backer

BBC reported A Yemeni cleric who claimed to have ties with Osama Bin Laden has been sentenced to 75 years in prison in New York. Sheikh Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad was convicted on charges of conspiring to support the al-Qaeda network and Palestinian militant group Hamas. At a meeting with two FBI informants in Germany, he was recorded promising to funnel more than $2m (£1.1m) to Hamas. He was arrested by German police in January 2003 and extradited to the US. For each of five counts, Moayad received 15-year sentences, each to be served consecutively. He was also fined $1.25m in a federal court. He was convicted of conspiring to support al-Qaeda and Hamas, supporting the Palestinian group and attempting to support al-Qaeda. The judge in the case, Judge Sterling Johnson, said videotaped evidence used to convict him was "chilling". "He did provide material support, money, weapons and recruits to Hamas and al Qaeda," the judge said.

Gee, why just 75 years? <grin>