“Underwear Bomber,” Abdulmuttalab, Gets Life in Prison

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and underwear bomb

By SaharaReporters, New York

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian passenger who on Christmas Day 2009 tried unsuccessfully to bomb down an airliner flying into Detroit, United States, has been sentenced to life in prison by a US District judge in Michigan.

The sentencing ended a trial that started in 2010 after the so-called “underwear bomber” tried to ignite a bomb hidden in his underwear 17 minutes before the Delta flight carrying 300 from Amsterdam was scheduled to land.

 The judge applied the maximum sentence after dismissing two motions filed by Umar Farouk's lawyer in the last 24 hours.  In her sentencing, the judge restated prosecutors’ argument that Umar Farouk’s action had political and religious undertones.  She said the intention was to inflict maximum damage on US citizens using weapons of mass destruction which Umar Farouk considered a "blessed weapon" by Allah.

The judge observed that Umar Farouk had shown no remorse for his actions and thus still posed a significant threat to the US and was still interested in fighting a jihad against Americans.

Following his sentencing, Umar Farouk shouted “Allahu Akbar” five times, after which he was led out of the court room to begin his life in prison