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 Abid Naseer, 29, faces life in prison when he is sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Raymond Dearie in New York after being convicted in
March on charges including that he provided material support to the
Islamic militant group.
In court papers, Naseer's lawyer has urged the judge to grant him
leniency, calling a life sentence excessive given his "very limited"
alleged role in the plot.
But federal prosecutors in a court filing contend Naseer deserves a
sentence of 30 years to life imprisonment, saying he remains
committed to al Qaeda's cause and poses an extreme danger.
Naseer was convicted nearly six years after he was first arrested in
a British anti-terrorism operation. British authorities never
charged Naseer but he was later indicted in the United States and
extradited in 2013.
 Naseer, who was raised in Peshawar, Pakistan and said he was a
semi-professional cricket player, led an al Qaeda cell that plotted
to bomb a shopping center in Manchester, England, in April 2009,
prosecutors said.
The proposed bombing in Britain was part of an overall plot
involving Naseer and al Qaeda cells that also included attacks
against the New York City subway system and a Copenhagen newspaper,
prosecutors said.
Two men, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay, have pleaded guilty to
U.S. charges stemming from the New York subway plot. A third, Adis
Medunjanin, was sentenced in 2012 to life in prison.
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Zazi testified at Naseer's trial, providing testimony that supported
prosecutors' claims that both men coordinated their plans through
coded emails with an al Qaeda operative in Pakistan.
At trial, prosecutors used never-before publicized documents seized
from the 2011 raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden as part
of their case against Naseer and testimony from British MI5 officers
who conducted surveillance on him.
The MI5 officers testified anonymously, wearing wigs and makeup to
protect their identities.
At trial, Naseer represented himself. He denied any affiliation with
al Qaeda or any plot, telling jurors that "terrorism is not
compatible with Islam."
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Bill Trott)
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