Nigerian Underwear Bomber Appeals Life Term For Attempted Terrorism

Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nicknamed “underwear bomber” whom a life sentence was passed on for trying to blow up a jetliner with almost 300 passengers using a bomb sewn into his underwear on Christmas Day 2009 has appealed the penance.

According to reports from the Associated Press, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s notice of appeal was dated Thursday and posted Friday in the electronic court record for the federal court in Detroit where he was given the sentence.

On Friday, an email seeking comment was sent to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit.

The 25 years old “underwear bomber”, pleaded guilty to all charges related to the attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. The inability of the bomb to properly detonate saved the lives of the almost three hundred passengers onboard the flight and burned Abdulmutallab’s groin.

Abdulmutallab’s attempt to bomb the aeroplane has caused citizens to have fresh fears that terrorists could still bring down an American jetliner more than eight years after 9/11. The “Underwear Bomber” failed terrorist attack has prompted accelerated installation of body scanners across airports in the nation.

According to the judge statement to the “underwear bomber”, life in prison is a “just punishment for what he has done.” “The defendant poses a significant ongoing threat to the safety of American citizens everywhere.”

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Anthony Chambers, an attorney assigned to help Abdulmutallab, said a mandatory life sentence was cruel and unconstitutional punishment for a crime that didn’t physically hurt anyone except Abdulmutallab.

However, the government disagrees with that point of view and insisted that plenty of harm had been done with Abdulmutallab’s action.

Unrepentant Abdulmutallab seemed to relish the sentence and defended his actions as rooted in the Muslim holy book, the Quran. “Mujahedeen are proud to kill in the name of God,” he said. “Today is a day of victory.”

During the trial process, a 52-second FBI video of the mock explosion that showed the impact the explosives on Abdulmutallab would have caused was played out in court. The unremorseful “underwear bomber” shouted “God is Great!” twice while watching the video.

According to U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds who presided over the case set aside Chamber’s call for a lesser sentence, adding that Abdulmutallab, who described the day as a “day of victory”, had shown no remorse for his actions.

Abdulmutallab had sat with a passive look on his face as Judge Edmunds handed down the maximum penalty for the crime he committed.

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Source – The Associated Press, Published: February 17 2012