A US court has sentenced Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and former al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith to life in prison.
The 48-year-old Kuwaiti national, who defended the September 11, 2001 attacks in the immediate aftermath, was found guilty on March 26 of plotting to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists.
Before the sentence was handed down on Tuesday in a US federal courtroom, Abu Ghaith spoke in Arabic through a translator to say the only judgment he would accept was that of God.
"Today when you are shackling my hands, and intend to bury me alive, you are unleashing the hands of thousands of Muslims and they will join the rally of free men," he said.
Judge Lewis Kaplan said Abu Ghaith failed to show remorse for the September 11 attacks and told the courtroom he remained a menace.
"You continue to threaten," Kaplan said.
"What you have done warrants the maximum sentence."
Abu Ghaith is the highest ranking al-Qaeda leader ever held in a prison on US soil.
In a September 12, 2001 video he is seen sitting alongside bin Laden and current al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri justifying the September 11 attacks and promising more bloodshed.
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