A 34-year-old New York man who joined al-Qaeda, plotted and attempted to commit suicide terrorist attacks on the city's subways in 2009 was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
The Justice Department said Adis Medunjanin, 34, was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to life in prison for multiple federal terrorism offenses.
"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," the statement from the Justice Department said.
Medunjanin began reciting verses from the Quran as the appeared in federal court in Brooklyn until U.S. District Judge John Gleeson interrupted to ask if he has anything to say in English, according to an Associated Press report.
Seeking more time to finish his reading, Medunjanin then began a verbal critique of the American society and foreign policy.
"What kind of system endorses torture? I ask you, is this really the best system that humanity has ever produced?," he asked. "I would like to ask, in what kind of world are we living - full of hate and lies? The rich keep getting richer. The poor keep getting poorer. Oppression is on every corner. I ask you, where is the peace?" He showed no remorse for his action and said, "I had nothing to do with any subway plot or bombing plot whatsoever. I ask Allah to release me from prison."
The investigation found that Medunjanin and his co-plotters, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay received terror training in the South Waziristan region of Pakistan. They were then asked to return the United States to conduct a "martyrdom" operation by the al-Qaeda leaders who emphasized the need to hit well-known targets and maximize the number of casualties.
The trio agreed and discussed the timing of the attacks and possible target locations in Manhattan, including the subway system, Grand Central Terminal, the New York Stock Exchange, Times Square and movie theatres.
However, law enforcement closed in on the plotters and arrested before they could implement their terror plot. When the plot was foiled, Medunjanin attempted an attack by crashing his car on the Whitestone Expressway in an effort to kill himself and others.
"Adis Medunjanin sought martyrdom for himself and death for innocent New Yorkers as part of al-Qaeda's plan to spread terror within our shores. Instead, he will now spend the rest of his life where he belongs, behind bars," U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in her order.
"Justice demanded a sentence of life for this al-Qaeda operative, who was dedicated to mass murder and destruction in the New York City subways. Scores of innocent New Yorkers would have been killed or maimed had Medunjanin succeeded in his plot. The combined efforts of dedicated law enforcement stood as a bulwark against al-Qaeda's reach," she said.
