A federal jury has found a Queens man guilty on all charges related to a 2009 plan for suicide attacks on the NYC subways, conspiring to join the Taliban and training with Al Qaeda. Adis Medunjanin now faces up to life in prison.
Back in September 2009, the FBI and NYPD raided a number of homes in Queens. It turned out they were acting on tips about a Madrid-style subway bombing, planned by Najibullah Zazi, the alleged mastermind. Medunjanin, a Queens College student, was arrested in January 2010, after a high-speed chase and charged with terrorism violations. Zazi pleaded guilty to charges in early 2010 and said he and his friends were inspired by the 2005 London subway bombings.
According to the NY Times, "The two-week trial offered a rare look at the evolution of a terrorist plot and the workings of Qaeda training camps where the former classmates received their orders. Two of the classmates described the plot, and two other convicted terrorists also testified for the government, sharing their secrets from the witness stand in a packed public courtroom." Medunjanin was trained in Pakistan by Al Qaeda: "After he was arrested, Medunjanin told the FBI he loved Osama Bin Laden more than himself and asked if he could be traded back to the Taliban as part of a prisoner exchange."
Medunjanin's sister reportedly screamed, "Oh God! Oh God!" after the verdict.
