Underwear bomber to serve life in prison

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a plane over Detroit in 2009. Enlarge

DETROIT -- A Nigerian man who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner with explosives concealed in his underwear on Christmas Day, 2009, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison by a federal judge who said his crime and subsequent lack of remorse demanded the maximum possible punishment.

The man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who pleaded guilty in October and admitted to working on behalf of al-Qaeda, shouted, "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," five times during the sentencing hearing.

He asserted that Muslims were "proud to kill in the name of God, and that is what God told us to do in the Qur'an."

The incident over Detroit renewed fears that terrorists still could bring down an American jetliner more than eight years after 9/11, and it accelerated installation of body scanners at the nation's airports.

Five people on the flight, including a flight attendant who helped put out a midair fire that Abdulmutallab started with his explosives, spoke during the hearing about the nightmares and fear they had experienced since the episode.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds ordered Abdulmutallab to serve the maximum sentence of four consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 50 years, on the charges, which included conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Judge Edmunds denied a motion by Abdulmutallab, who represented himself during much of the case, with the assistance of a standby lawyer, to declare life imprisonment as cruel and unusual punishment because his act did not kill or seriously injure anyone.

"Defendant has never expressed doubt or regret or remorse," she said. "This court can't control defendant's motivations, which appear to be unchanged, but it can control defendant's opportunity to act."

Life in prison is a "just punishment for what he has done," the judge said.

"The defendant poses a significant ongoing threat to the safety of American citizens everywhere," she said.

Prosecutors showed a video demonstrating the type of explosion that could have occurred on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which originated in Amsterdam, but that for a technical problem resulted only in Abdulmutallab's setting himself and a wall of the plane on fire.

Cathleen Corken, an assistant United States attorney, called it "a cold-blooded, calculated plan to kill everyone aboard the plane."

"It was sheer fortuity that numerous deaths were avoided, and he should not be given credit for that," Ms. Corken said.

She noted that increased airport security measures implemented since the attempted bombing had shown that "the American public at large was victimized by the defendant's conduct."

Abdulmutallab spoke for about three minutes.

He claimed Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders who had been killed "are alive and shall be victorious by God's grace." He also said attacks would continue "until the Jews are driven out of Palestine."

The flight attendant, Lemare Mason, said Abdulmutallab had "robbed" him of the pleasure of working his "dream job traveling the world." Mr. Mason said he had night sweats and was constantly frightened about another terrorist attack.

The aftermath of the attempted bombing fueled a national debate over whether terrorism suspects, especially noncitizens arrested inside the United States, should be handled by the criminal justice system or be transferred to military hands.

When the plane landed in Detroit, Abdulmutallab confessed to the plot for about 50 minutes, then went into surgery because of his burns.

After surgery, officials said, they warned him of his Miranda rights against self-incrimination, including a right to remain silent and have a lawyer.

Abdulmutallab did not start talking to investigators again until several weeks later.

After relatives encouraged Abdulmutallab to start cooperating again, apparently in hopes of reaching a plea deal, he resumed providing extensive amounts of information about al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- some of which was outlined by prosecutors in court filings last week.

It included a detailed description of what he said was the role played by Anwar al-Awlaki -- an American killed in a drone strike last year -- in the bombing plot.