MIAMI (AP) – Convicted terrorism plotter Jose Padilla (hoh-ZAY’ puh-DEE’-uh) has received a new prison sentence of 21 years after a federal appeals court ruled his original term of 17 years was too lenient.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke imposed the sentence Tuesday. Padilla was convicted in 2007 on charges of supporting al-Qaida and terrorism conspiracy.
He was arrested by the FBI in 2002 on what authorities said was an al-Qaida mission to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” inside the U.S. Those accusations were later dropped and Padilla was added to another terrorism case.
Before trial, Padilla was held without charge as an enemy combatant for over three years.