Civil Rights Attorney Lynne Stewart Sentenced to 28 Months In Jail; Remains Free On Bail

Stewart was facing up to thirty years after being found guilty of conspiring to aid terrorists and lying to the government. She was convicted of distributing press releases on behalf of her jailed client - Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman - also known as the blind sheikh - who is serving a life sentence on terror-related charges. Stewart was found to have helped Rahman communicate followers in Egypt with messages that could have ended a cease-fire there and ignited violence.

U.S. District Judge John Koeltl ruled Stewart is guilty of: "extraordinarily severe criminal conduct." But he rejected prosecutors’ argument she presents a threat to national security, and said there is no evidence anyone has been harmed by her actions. Judge Koeltl also rejected prosecutors’ request for the maximum jail term, citing Stewart’s years of representing the poor and underprivileged. Judge Koeltl wrote: "It is no exaggeration to say that Ms. Stewart performed a public service not only to the court but to the nation."

Stewart’s two co-defendants were also sentenced. Ahmed Sattar, a postal worker who acted as a paralegal for Abdel-Rahman, was given 24 years in prison for conspiring to kill people outside the US. Mohammed Yousry, an Arabic translator, was given twenty months for aiding the smuggling of Abdel-Rahman’s messages.

Shortly after her sentencing, Lynne Stewart stepped outside the courtroom to a crowd of cheering supporters.

* Lynne Stewart

Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart. She’s free now pending an appeal of her conviction. Also speaking outside the courtroom was Lynne Stewart’s husband, Ralph Poynter.

* Ralph Poynter

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