NEWARK, N.J., April 16 (UPI) — Two would-be jihadists from New Jersey have been sentenced to federal prison.
Mohamed Alessa, 23, of North Bergen was given a 22-year term and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 27, of Elmwood Park received a 20-year sentence Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported.
The judge said he gave Alessa a longer sentence because of his apparent deeper involvement in radical terrorist beliefs, the newspaper said.
Prosecutors had sought 30-year terms for both men.
The pair were arrested at a New York City airport in 2010 and pleaded guilty in 2011 to planning to travel to Somalia to join the al-Shabaab terror group.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
