Al-Qaida Spokesman Gets 25 Years, But Could be Out in 8

(Bloomberg) — An al-Qaida spokesman was sentenced to 25 years in a U.S. prison for his crimes tied to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, but his plea deal with the government means he could be freed after serving eight years.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Friday he initially considered rejecting Adel Abdel Bary’s plea agreement because he thought it was too lenient and gives him credit for the more than 14 1/2 years he’s been in custody since his 1999 arrest in the U.K.

Abdel Bary, 54, who the U.S. says is also a senior member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, pleaded guilty in September to terrorism charges tied to the near simultaneous bombings in Kenya and Tanzania which killed 224 people and wounded more than 4,000. He admitted during his plea that he’d passed messages from Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other al-Qaida leaders to the media.

"You are the beneficiary of, in my mind, an enormously generous plea bargain," Kaplan said. "I first entertained the possibility of rejecting it, but the decision was not fundamentally mine to make."

Abdel Bary, who trained as a lawyer in Egypt, spent more than 14 years fighting extradition to the U.S from the U.K. The U.K. sent him to the U.S. in 2012. With the time served and time off for good behavior, he’d be eligible for release in about eight years.

Kaplan said he was also disturbed by the fact Abdel Bary might ask the Justice Department to let him to serve his term in England.

"Any such application should be denied," Kaplan said. "This was as serious a crime against American citizens as I can imagine and the punishment in my view ought to be served in the United States and under the control of the United States."

Abdel Bary expressed remorse for the al-Qaida attacks in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as well as and attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, insisting he didn’t share the group’s murderous and violent goals. Kaplan said the group’s crimes were "horrific."

"You, unlike the victims of the embassy bombings, can look forward to rejoining your family and your life in freedom," Kaplan said. "The victims of Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Mogadishu have no such prospect."

Just before sentencing, Abdel Bary apologized to his victims and their families, including Edith Bartley and her mother, Sue, who sat in the courtroom. Edith Bartley’s father, Julian Bartley, who was the U.S. counsel general, and her brother, Julian Jr., were killed in the Nairobi attack.

"I’d like to say I’m sorry to all of the victims and the ladies who are sitting here," Abdel Bary said. "If I could just do something to bring them victims back, I would do it. Unfortunately I can’t.

The case is U.S. v. Hage, 98-cr-01023, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).