Wadih El Hage, a 52-year-old US citizen, has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1998 bombings of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. El Hage was convicted of conspiracies to kill US nationals, murder US government employees and internationally protected persons, and destroy buildings and property of the United States.
The bombings, which killed 224 innocent people, were part of an international conspiracy to murder Americans that was led by al Qaeda. El Hage was a high-ranking associate of Usama Bin Laden and performed key functions for the organization, including facilitating the bombings and providing false identification documents to operatives.
El Hage was also convicted of multiple counts of perjury for lying to a federal grand jury about his knowledge of and association with al Qaeda and its leaders and members. He was further convicted of three counts of making false statements to FBI agents regarding the same.
The case against El Hage was handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorneys Sean S. Buckley and Aimee Hector in charge of the prosecution.
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Tanzanian National Police, and the Kenyan National Police.
El Hage was resentenced today by US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, following an appeal by the Second Circuit that upheld his conviction and remanded for resentencing in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Booker.
Defendant: Wadih El Hage
Criminal Charges: Conspiracies to kill US nationals, murder US government employees and internationally protected persons, and destroy buildings and property of the United States, perjury, and making false statements to FBI agents.
City and State: New York
Sentence: Life in prison
Date: October 18, 2001
Case Type: Violent Crime
Related Federal Cases
- Richard Ramsey, Federal Perjury, New York 2013 · New York
- Johnny Ray Gasca, Kidnapping, New York 2021 · Pennsylvania
- Thomas Disla, Multiple Shootings, New York 2022 · Pennsylvania
- Ahmed Altorei, Narcotics Conspiracy, New York 2022 · New York
- Malcolm Hogue, Shooting into Crowd, New York 2024 · New York
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
