Jamaican cleric Abdullah el-Faisal convicted in NY state terrorism trial

Source: Associated Press

Jamaican cleric convicted in NY state terrorism trial

January 27, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — A Jamaican cleric accused of recruiting support for the Islamic State group was convicted Thursday of state terrorism charges after being extradited to New York City following an undercover New York Police Department sting that went international.

Abdullah el-Faisal is due to be sentenced next month after his conviction in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on counts including soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said.

Bragg’s office said it was the first-ever state-level trial on terrorism charges. New York’s laws on terrorism were passed in the aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

El-Faisal, who had previously served prison time in Britain after being convicted of incitement and stirring racial hatred and had also been deported from Kenya, was arrested in his native Jamaica in 2017 and extradited to New York City in 2020.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-crime-legal-proceedings-new-york-city-manhattan-2167f5a7e5d6dad20310bd85f67668f9