London: A British judge has sentenced a
former British Airways computer specialist to 30 years in
prison for plotting with US-born extremist cleric Anwar
al-Awlaki to blow up an airplane in an attack intended to kill
hundreds of people.
Rajib Karim, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi man, was
convicted last month of four counts of engaging in preparation
for terrorist attacks. He already had pleaded guilty to five
other terrorism offenses, but denied plotting an attack in
Britain.
Justice Calvert-Smith called Karim`s offenses "of the
utmost gravity" in Friday`s sentencing at Woolwich Crown
Court.
Prosecutors said Karim used his position at the
airline to conspire with al-Awlaki, a notorious US-born
radical preacher associated with al Qaeda and thought to be
hiding in Yemen.
PTI
