In a bizarre decision, a former aide of Osama bin Laden, Adel Abdel Bary (60), has been released ahead of the completion of his jail term by a Manhattan federal judge for being too ‘obese’. The decision was taken fearing that he had a high risk of being infected with Coronavirus while in jail. He has been set free and is now living in the United Kingdom. Bary was Osama bin Laden’s former spokesman.
US District Judge Lewis A. Kalpan ruled, “Defendant’s obesity and somewhat advanced age make COVID-19 significantly more risky to him than to the average person.” His lawyers argued that his ‘continued incarceration’ could aggravate his health conditions. It is important to mention that Adel weighed 230 pounds, with a body mass index of 36. Citing his health conditions (age, girth and asthma), his lawyers sought for his release earlier than the scheduled date.
The prosecutors, conceding his obesity, stated, “The defendant’s obesity is an extraordinary and compelling reason that could justify a reduction of his sentence in light of the current pandemic.” They, however, did not buy the argument that his age made him susceptible to Coronavirus infection. Nevertheless, the Al-Qaeda terrorist was freed on October 9 from prison and released on Wednesday from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Adel now lives in a million-dollar apartment
As per reports, Adel was an Al-Qaeda terrorist who bombed two US embassies in Africa in 1998 and killed a total of 224 people, including 12 American nationals. He had spent 21 years in a prison in New Jersey in connection to the terrorist attacks. Adel now lives with his wife Ragaa at an apartment in London, which costs over $1 million. His son is Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, a former rapper who took to extremism in 2013 and arrested in April 2020 from Almeria.
Aide of Osama bin Laden could not be extradited back to Egypt
Despite public outcry, his extradition to the United Kingdom could not be stopped as he was granted asylum in the country in 1997. He was arrested 2 years later in 1999 and was deported to the US in 2012 to stand trial. Although sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2015, Adel received relief for years spent in jail in Britain. Since he is now at a risk of death due to obesity, the terrorist could not be returned back to Egypt.
“Just serving a sentence doesn’t mean that a person has been rehabilitated, doesn’t mean that their core thinking has changed. This is a person who can still do harm in the world”, lamented Edith Bartley, the sister of a victim of Adel’s terrorist attacks.