Al-Qaida sleeper agent to be sentenced in Ill.

[October 29, 2009]  PEORIA (AP) -- A federal judge in Illinois is expected to decided whether to send an admitted al-Qaida member to prison or grant his lawyers' demands to set him free.

A sentencing hearing for 44-year-old Ali al-Marri (AH'-lee ahl-MAR'-ee) is scheduled Thursday in Peoria.

The Qatar native has admitted training in al-Qaida camps and having contact with those involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.

He pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Al-Marri spent more than five years detained in a U.S. Navy brig in South Carolina without being charged. His attorneys say that was punishment enough, but a U.S. Air Force psychologist says al-Marri would likely attack the U.S. if given the chance.

[Associated Press]

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