ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- An Arab-American student has been convicted of conspiring with Al-Qaida to assassinate President Bush and hijack airplanes.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali could face life in prison when he is sentenced. A jury in federal court in Virginia rejected his claims that he gave a false confession after being tortured in Saudi Arabia.
The verdict is a victory for the Justice Department in its quest to use intelligence from foreign sources in U.S. trials, the New York Times said.
Abu Ali, who was born in the United States and grew up in Virginia, was studying in Medina when he was arrested in 2003. The Justice Department charged he went to Saudi Arabia planning to become a terrorist, while defense lawyers said he was only interested in pursuing religious studies.
While the government, before the trial, called Abu Ali "one of the most dangerous terrorist threats that America faces in the perilous world after Sept. 11, 2001," his lawyers suggested if he is one of the most dangerous threats to the United States the country is extremely lucky.
