NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 3 (UPI) -- A former member of the U.S. Navy was sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison for disclosing classified information, officials said Friday.
The sentence handed down to Hassan Abu-Jihaad, formerly known as Paul R. Hall of Phoenix, also includes three years of supervised release, the Justice Department said.
"This defendant provided classified information to others with the understanding that it could be used to endanger the lives of hundreds of members of the United States Navy, and we are pleased that the court imposed the maximum prison term allowed under the law," said Acting U.S. Attorney Dannehy for the District of Connecticut.
At the trial, evidence was presented that four or five months after the October 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, Abu-Jihaad provided classified information on movements of a Navy battle group to Azzam Publications, a London-based organization that allegedly provided material support and resources to terrorists.
A federal jury in New Haven, Conn., found Abu-Jihaad guilty in March 2008 of one count of providing material support of terrorism, and one count of disclosing previously classified information related to national defense. In March, federal judge Mark Kravitz partially granted a defense motion for a judgment of acquittal on the material support of terrorism charge.
