Libyan militia leader gets 22-year sentence over killed US ambassador

CAIRO – 28 June 2018: A Libyan militia leader convicted in the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed a US ambassador and three other Americans was sentenced to 22 years in prison Wednesday by a federal judge in the District of Columbia, Washington Post newspaper reported.

A jury in November acquitted Ahmed Abu Khattala, 47, of murder and attempted murder in the overnight attacks that began Sept. 11, 2012, on a US diplomatic mission and nearby CIA post.

However, Abu Khattala was convicted on charges including conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists.

It was the extent of Abu Khattala’s role as ringleader that U.S. District Judge Christopher R. “Casey” Cooper considered in sentencing him, the newspaper noted.

Federal prosecutors said Abu Khattala helped mastermind a terrorist strike abroad that resulted in the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others and that he deserved the maximum punishment.