PORT ANGELES — Convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam expects to learn by April 15 if the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will rethink a decision that would lead to a prison sentence longer than 22 years.
The court ruled 2-1 in February that the sentence was too short in light of Ressam’s involvement with al-Qaida, his intention to bomb Los Angeles International Airport with a suitcase bomb when he was captured more than 10 years ago and his refusal to fully cooperate with investigators.
Ressam, now 41, was arrested in Port Angeles after he arrived in Port Angeles aboard the MV Coho ferry from Victoria on Dec. 14, 1999.
After his capture, he cooperated with investigators looking into al-Qaida’s worldwide network but refused to testify against those arrested on the basis of his information, Ressam’s lawyer, federal Public Defender Tom Hillier of Seattle, said Tuesday.
Hillier said the wants a full 11-judge federal appeals court panel to reconsider the three-judge-panel’s decision because of alleged procedural errors and its removal of U.S. District Judge John C. Coghenour from the case for what Hillier said were political reasons.
“If they look like they want to take a look at the case, the process will play out for a few more months,” Hillier said.
“If they decide not to take a look at the case, we will know within two weeks.”
Ressam is being held in a solitary confinement cell two stories underground at the “supermax” federal penitentiary in Florence, Colo., Hillier said.
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