NEW YORK, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A convicted al-Qaida backer born in the United States was sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood sentenced Wesam el-Hanafi, of Brooklyn, to 15 years out of a possible 20 years in prison.
El-Hanafi, 39, pleaded guilty in 2012 to federal charges he provided al-Qaida associates in Yemen with $67,000 and planned an attack on the New York Stock Exchange.
Hi co-conspirator, Sabirhan Hasanoff, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2012 to 18 years in prison.
Wood said she gave el-Hanafi a lesser sentence because he has health problems. He has deep-vein thrombosis, which he says was caused by being shackled for long periods of time. He also says he wasn't allowed to move around on a 14-hour flight to the United States after he was arrested in Dubai.
"His years in confinement have been significantly harsher than they would have been for an average inmate," Wood said.
El-Hanafi sued the U.S. government in 2013, blaming law enforcement for his condition and lack of medical care. The outcome of that lawsuit is still pending.
El-Hanafi said he's now "dedicated to leading a moral and law-abiding life."
"I didn't just make the wrong choices, I made the worst choices," he said.
