NEW YORK CITY — Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, Abid Naseer was sentenced to 40 years for multiple terrorism offenses.
The defendant and his accomplices came within days of executing a plot to conduct a bombing at a crowded shopping mall in Manchester, United Kingdom, as directed by senior Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.
The planned attack, which also targeted the New York City subway system and a newspaper office in Copenhagen, Denmark, had been directed by and coordinated with senior Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.
Naseer is the eighth defendant to face charges in Brooklyn federal court related to the Al Qaeda plot, which also involved Adis Medunjanin, Najibullah Zazi, and Zarein Ahmedzay, the three members of the cell that targeted New York City.
Naseer was convicted in March 2015 after a three week jury trial of providing material support to Al Qaeda, conspiring to provide material support to Al Qaeda, and conspiring to use a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence.
During trial the government introduced evidence that in approximately September 2008, Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan recruited Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay, three friends from New York City, to conduct a suicide bombing attack in New York City. Those Al Qaeda leaders, including Adnan El-Shukrijumah and Saleh al-Somali, communicated with Zazi about the plot through an Al Qaeda facilitator named “Ahmad,” who was located in Peshawar, Pakistan.
In early September 2009, after Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay had selected the New York City subway system as their target, Zazi e-mailed with Ahmad in Pakistan about the proper ingredients for the main charge explosive, which included flour and oil.
Zazi pleaded guilty to his role in the plot on February 22, 2010; Ahmedzay pleaded guilty on April 23, 2010; and Medunjanin was convicted after trial on May 1, 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison. Zazi and Ahmedzay are awaiting sentence.
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