Related To Story ![]() STREETS CLOSED These streets will be closed to vehicular traffic during the sentencing on July 27 from 5 a.m. to no later than 3 p.m.: 7th Avenue will be closed north of Stewart to Lenora 8th Avenue will be closed north of Stewart to Lenora Virginia will be closed from Westlake to 9th Stewart will be open all day Drivers who live or work in the area may be asked to show identification to drive into a restricted area. Embeddable News Widgets |
Ahmed Ressam Brought To Courthouse For Sentencing
POSTED: 2:10 pm PDT July 26,
2005
UPDATED: 8:44 am PDT July 27,
2005
SEATTLE -- A convoy carrying Ahmed Ressam arrived at the federal courthouse in Seattle early Wednesday amid intense security, bringing the convicted terrorist for his sentencing in a plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium.Road blocks, armed guards and bomb sniffing dogs are part of the ultra-high security in place for the sentencing, scheduled at 8:30 a.m., KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.
Slideshow: Timeline Of Ahmed Ressam Case
Ressam was brought to the courthouse at about 6 a.m. in a gray van that was escorted through downtown Seattle by black sport utility vehicles, video from Chopper 7 showed.Ressam was convicted four years ago of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium.Sentencing was delayed because he provided information to anti-terror investigators, but he stopped cooperating. Prosecutors want him to testify against two accused coconspirators held in Canada and Britain.Ressam appeared at the federal courthouse in April, brought there in a white van with blacked-out windows as armed guards and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the area.
After more than two hours of arguments, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour told Ressam he would have three more months to resume cooperation."He is now at a point where he feels he can do no more," Ressam's lawyers wrote in a supplemental sentencing memorandum filed Monday. "Mr. Ressam knows what he did was wrong and hopes the court accepts his statement that he is truly sorry."Federal prosecutors are asking for a 35-year sentence for the 38-year-old. Defense lawyers are asking for a 12-year term.The Algerian was trained by al-Qaida in Afghanistan and lived in Canada before he tried to enter the United States on a ferry boat at Port Angeles. He was caught in December 1999 by Customs agents who found explosives in his car.
Ressam was brought to the courthouse at about 6 a.m. in a gray van that was escorted through downtown Seattle by black sport utility vehicles, video from Chopper 7 showed.Ressam was convicted four years ago of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium.Sentencing was delayed because he provided information to anti-terror investigators, but he stopped cooperating. Prosecutors want him to testify against two accused coconspirators held in Canada and Britain.Ressam appeared at the federal courthouse in April, brought there in a white van with blacked-out windows as armed guards and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the area.
After more than two hours of arguments, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour told Ressam he would have three more months to resume cooperation."He is now at a point where he feels he can do no more," Ressam's lawyers wrote in a supplemental sentencing memorandum filed Monday. "Mr. Ressam knows what he did was wrong and hopes the court accepts his statement that he is truly sorry."Federal prosecutors are asking for a 35-year sentence for the 38-year-old. Defense lawyers are asking for a 12-year term.The Algerian was trained by al-Qaida in Afghanistan and lived in Canada before he tried to enter the United States on a ferry boat at Port Angeles. He was caught in December 1999 by Customs agents who found explosives in his car. Copyright 2005 by KIROTV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



















