Ali Al-Tamimi - Trial and Sentencing

Trial and Sentencing

According to prosecution, in a meeting al-Tamimi attended in Fairfax five days after the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, he had told his followers that "the time had come for them to go abroad and join the mujaheddin engaged in violent jihad in Afghanistan." Many who attended that meeting formed the Virginia Jihad Network, trained for jihad, and some left the U.S. for terrorist training camps.

After the conclusion of the Virginia Jihad Network trials, prosecutors tried al-Tamimi for encouraging the Virginia Jihad Network wage jihad in India and the U.S. The case before U.S. District (Eastern District of Virginia) Judge Leonie M. Brinkema was on 10 counts, including soliciting others to levy war against the United States, and contributing services to the Taliban.

After considering the case for seven days, a federal jury convicted him on all 10 counts in April 2005. He was sentenced on July 14, 2005, to life imprisonment. In sentencing him, Judge Brinkema said "I don't think any well-read person can doubt the truth that terrorist camps are an essential part of the new terrorism that is perpetrated in the world today. People of good will need to do whatever they can to stop that."

While many Muslim leaders criticized the verdict, Free Muslims Against Terrorism, a new American organization, issued a press release applauding his conviction, and Kamal Nawash, its president said "By categorizing every conviction against every Muslim as a witch hunt, American Muslim leaders are closing their eyes to the sad fact that we have a problem with extremism, and that Muslims are the only ones that can defeat extremist ideologies from the Muslim community."