| Baltimore
Man Who Fought
for Al Shaabab
for 4 Year
Gets 25 Years
In Second
Sentencing
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
book
BBC -
Honduras
- CIA
Trial book - NY
Mag
SDNY COURTROOM
EXCLUSIVE, Nov 3 –
Maalik Jones
joined Al
Shaabab in
Somalia in
2011,
traveling
there from
Baltimore
where he'd
grown up as
the abused son
of the
principal of
an Islamic
school.
He fought for
Al Shaabab's
Jaysh Ayman
unit for four
years, finally
fleeing them
they targeted
him. He was
picked up,
prosecuted in
the US and
sentenced to
35 years in
prison.
On
November 3, he
had a second
sentencing,
following the
US Supreme
Court's Davis
decision.
Inner City
Press, which
had filed
to unseal
documents in
the case, was
there.
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
Paul G.
Gardephe had
asked for
filing about
Jones'
knowledge of
Al Shaabab
attacks in
Lamu,
Kenya.
But in the
November 3
proceeding,
Jones' two
defense lawyer
spoke mostly
about his
childhood, his
time in
solitary
confinement,
and his desire
to be placed
in a
deradicalization
program.
One
said that the
sentencing on
the January 6
cases should
be
compared.
The Assistant
US Attorney
disagreed,
emphasizing
that Jones
left the US
and took up
arms with a
group that has
in essence
declared war
on
America.
Judge
Gardephe noted
that the
defense
submissions
did not
address why a
27 year old
from Baltimore
would do that.
He said, "if
there is a
more vicious
terrorist
group than Al
Shaabab, I
don't know of
it." (As Inner
City Press
reported,
Judge Gardephe
presided over
the Hezbollah
trial of Alexi
Saab, and will
soon preside
over his
retrial on
some
charges).
The maximum
sentence this
time was 25
years, and
that's what
Judge Gardephe
imposed.
He
recommended
the
deradicalization
program, and
designation to
FCI Cumberland
in Maryland,
to be near
Jones'
family.
The
case is US v.
Maalik Jones,
16-cr-19
(Gardephe)
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2022 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|
,
