US Appeals Court Rules Benghazi Attacker’s 22-Year Sentence Unreasonably Low

Marshalls patrol outside the federal courthouse where Ahmed Abu Khatalla, a ringleader of the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi that killed four Americans, is in custody – Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Islamic Extremism

US Appeals Court Rules Benghazi Attacker’s 22-Year Sentence Unreasonably Low

Article Source: Politico Extremism Roundup 2022-08-04

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: Ahmed Abu Khatalla, one of the suspected Libyan ringleaders of the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi that killed four Americans, is in federal law enforcement custody at E. Barrett Prettyman United States Court House in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 28, 2014. U.S. Marshalls patrol outside the courthouse. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A U.S. appeals court decided that Ahmed Abu Khatallah’s 22-year sentence for his role in the 2012 Benghazi attack wasn’t enough.
Khatallah, 51, was originally convicted in 2018 on several counts for his involvement in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya. He appealed his sentence, but the government cross-appealed, arguing the original sentence was “unreasonably low.”
Khatallah’s sentencing guidelines would have ranged between 30 years and life in prison.