US prosecutors seek long prison term for lawyer in terrorism case
The Associated Press Published: September 4, 2006
NEW YORK Seeking a 30-year prison term for a lawyer convicted of supplying information to terrorists, prosecutors argued the attorney engaged for more than two years in "extremely dangerous and devious" conduct to help an Egyptian terrorist leader communicate with followers despite U.S. efforts to silence him.
Lynne Stewart's "egregious, flagrant abuse of her profession, abuse that amounted to material support to a terrorist group, deserves to be severely punished," prosecutors wrote in a document submitted Thursday to the judge who will sentence her next month.
Stewart was convicted in February 2005 of providing material support to terrorists by releasing the statement of her client, Sheik Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, who was imprisoned for life after being convicted in 1995 of plotting to blow up New York City landmarks.
Her lawyers argued in July that Stewart should receive no prison time. They said a harsh sentence would frighten other skilled lawyers from representing notorious clients and that Stewart's three decades of distinguished work for indigent clients should speak louder than a single serious mistake.
The prosecutors see it differently.
"Stewart did not walk a fine line of zealous advocacy and accidentally fall over it; she marched across it and into a criminal conspiracy," Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Dember wrote in a 129-page document. "The government obviously did not prosecute Stewart because she is a zealous advocate, but rather for blatantly and repeatedly violating the law."
Dember said fellow lawyers and others who have spoken out on Stewart's behalf may not understand the facts of the case.
"In sum, Stewart's ... conduct was not isolated to one single event; rather, it showed a pattern of purposeful and willful conduct, in which she played a central role in repeated fraudulent attempts to pass messages to and from Abdel-Rahman," he said.
Dember accused Stewart of a "pattern of deceit and dishonesty" aimed at overcoming special rules imposed on Abdel-Rahman to prevent him from communicating with the outside world, especially his followers in Egypt.
He also said Stewart lied at her trial when she said the government knew that special prison rules allowed the sheik's lawyers to issue press releases, and when she denied knowing an overseas terrorist until her trial.
"Stewart's criminal conduct, which lasted more than two years, was both extremely dangerous and devious, and she cannot have failed to understand at the time that the government had placed her in a position of trust with respect to a terrorist leader who was believed to pose a sufficient threat that he needed to be held essentially incommunicado," he said.
The government also rejected arguments that the terrorism case was handled differently because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying the criminal investigation of Stewart began before then.
Stewart was convicted along with Mohamed Yousry, an Arabic interpreter, and Ahmed Abdel Sattar, a U.S. postal worker. The government sought a 20-year prison term for Yousry and a life sentence for Sattar.
Yousry also was convicted of providing material support to terrorists. Sattar was convicted of conspiracy to kill and kidnap people in a foreign country.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/04/america/NA_GEN_US_Terror_Trial.php
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