ALGERIAN national Mokhtar Haouari was sentenced on Wednesday to 24 years of prison for plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport during millennium celebrations. “The defendant created a great risk to the well being and the safety of the American people,” said Judge William Keenan. Haouari (32) attended the sentencing, dressed in a blue prison uniform, but declined to comment about his fate. “No, I don’t say anything,” he said. He was found guilty July 13 on charges that he conspired to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations along with another Algerian, Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted in April. The plot was foiled when Ressam was arrested at a border entry post in the state of Washington trying to smuggle 59 kilograms of explosives and other bomb-making materials into the United States in the trunk of his car. – AFP
Wednesday January 16, 2001