Appeals court says 28-year sentence is too lenient for Libyan militant convicted in Benghazi attack
The panel said the punishment does not reflect the seriousness of the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed four Americans.
- On Friday, the Columbia Circuit Court vacated the 28-year sentence for Libyan militant Ahmed Abu Khatallah, ruling it unreasonably lenient for his role in the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
- A district court judge initially sentenced Khatallah to 22 years in 2018, but the appeals court rejected that sentence four years ago as a shockingly light punishment under the circumstances.
- Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Michelle Childs, and Florence Pan concluded the 28-year term fails to reflect the seriousness of Khatallah's crimes, noting his stated regret that terrorists did not kill every American at the Mission.
- Transferring the case back to the district court in Washington for resentencing, the panel determined the previous term handed down by District Judge Christopher Cooper remains insufficient.
- A Republican-led congressional panel blamed Democratic President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for security failures and a slow response to the 2012 Benghazi attack, which became a political flashpoint in Washington.
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24 Articles
Associated Press News
Appeals court says 28-year sentence is too lenient for Libyan militant convicted in Benghazi attack
A federal appeals court has concluded that a 28-year prison sentence is too lenient for a Libyan militant who was convicted of terrorism-related charges in the 2012 attacks on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
US Appeals Court Orders New Sentencing for Libyan Militia Leader
Libyan militia leader Ahmed Abu Khattala, ruling that the punishment was “unreasonably lenient” and ordering a federal district court in Washington, DC, to resentence him. The decision was issued on Friday by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which concluded that the sentence failed to reflect the seriousness of Abu Khattala’s terrorism convictions stemming from the 2012 attack on the US diplomatic facilities in Bengh…
Washington: On Friday, an American Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the sentence of 28 years ' imprisonment was extremely light for a Libyan hardliner convicted of terrorism-related charges in the 2012 attacks on American compounds in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
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