| Date: 02/05/2012 Time: 10:49:00 AM |
A US citizen who joined Al-Qaeda and plotted to
commit suicide bombings in the New York City subway system in 2009, in what is
considered one of the most serious terrorist plots against America since 9/11,
was found guilty of "multiple federal terrorism offenses," the Justice
Department announced late Tuesday.
A Justice Department statement said that "following a four-week trial, Adis
Medunjanin, 28, a Queens, N.Y., resident who joined Al-Qaeda and plotted to
commit a suicide terrorist attack, was found guilty of multiple federal
terrorism offenses."
The statement indicated that the defendant and his accomplices "came within
days of executing a plot to conduct coordinated suicide bombings in the New
York City subway system in September 2009, as directed by senior Al-Qaeda
leaders in Pakistan."
It added that "when the plot was foiled, the defendant attempted to commit
a terrorist attack by crashing his car on the Whitestone Expressway in New
York in an effort to kill himself and others."
According to the statement, Medunjanin was convicted of "conspiring to use
weapons of mass destruction, conspiring to commit murder of US military
personnel abroad, providing and conspiring to provide material support to
Al-Qaeda, receiving military training from Al-Qaeda, conspiring and attempting
to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and using
firearms and destructive devices in relation to these offenses."
It also said that when sentenced on September 7, 2012, Medunjanin faces "a
mandatory sentence of life in prison."
So far, seven defendants including Medunjanin have been convicted in
connection with the Al-Qaeda New York City bombing plot and related charges.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco stressed in
this regard that Medunjanin "was an active and willing participant in one of
the most serious terrorist plots against the homeland since 9/11."
Monaco affirmed that "were it not for the combined efforts of the law
enforcement and intelligence communities, the suicide bomb attacks that he and
others planned would have been devastating." |