Longer term sought for Ressam

The federal government has appealed the 22-year prison sentence given would-be terrorist Ahmed Ressam, saying the Algerian who planned to kill travelers at Los Angeles International Airport during the Millennium celebration deserves a longer prison term.

At a hearing last month, federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge John Coughenour to sentence Ressam to 35 years in prison after Ressam quit cooperating with the FBI and foreign governments following his 2002 conviction. Ressam, the government said, could have received 65 years in prison if he hadn't cooperated at all.

With credit for time served, Ressam could be eligible for release within 14 years.

The government had praised Ressam for his earlier cooperation, which resulted in the conviction of one other plotter and shed light on terrorist activities in Europe and elsewhere.

Now, government lawyers have said Ressam's change of heart has crippled two pending terrorism cases, including the prosecution of Abu Doha, a London man identified as one of Osama bin Laden's primary European operators.

Ressam and his attorneys claimed he was being asked to do too much and had suffered a mental breakdown after repeated interrogations and years in solitary confinement.

Ressam, 38, was arrested Dec. 14, 1999, in Port Angeles coming off a ferry from Canada in a rental car loaded with powerful homemade explosives. It was later learned that he had trained in bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan and was part of an Islamic terrorist cell in Montreal.

After last month's sentencing, U.S. Attorney John McKay said the government had hoped Ressam would get more time but still was "pleased with this sentence." He said Coughenour had given careful consideration to the complex issues surrounding the case.

But yesterday, McKay said, "While I have huge respect for Judge Coughenour, I believe the 22-year sentence was in error when gauged against the 65-year sentence he could have faced, and in consideration of Mr. Ressam's cooperation."

Privately, some government officials complained that Coughenour used the sentencing to upbraid the U.S. government's plan to try some accused terrorists in secret tribunals or hold them indefinitely as enemy combatants. Instead, those officials said, the judge should have addressed Ressam directly for his actions.

McKay declined to respond directly to those complaints but added: "The core issue is the length of sentence. Whether the 9th Circuit [Court of Appeals] finds it significant that the judge made additional comments, we'll wait and see."

The government's decision to appeal was questioned by Michael Filipovic, one of Ressam's federal public defenders. He said the defense team now may file a cross-appeal in the 9th Circuit as well.

The government had offered Ressam a 25-year deal before his trial without any promise of cooperation.

"It's difficult for the government to argue that a 22-year sentence is unfair now, considering the scope of Ressam's cooperation to date," Filipovic said.

McKay said any plea offer made before trial is irrelevant.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com