Osama bin Laden's son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith jailed for life

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for acting as al-Qaeda's spokesman after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was the highest-ranking al-Qaeda figure to face trial on US soil since the attacks. The Kuwaiti cleric became the voice of al-Qaeda recruitment videos after the 2001 attacks. He testified at trial that his role was strictly religious.

Abu Ghaith was sentenced by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who said he saw "no remorse whatsoever" from the imam. "You continue to threaten," the judge said. "You sir, in my assessment, still want to do everything you can to carry out al-Qaeda's agenda of killing Americans."

Abu Ghaith, 48, was convicted in March on conspiracy charges that he answered bin Laden's request in the hours after the attacks to speak on the widely circulated videos used to recruit followers willing to go on suicide missions like the 19 who hijacked four jets on September 11.

"The storm of airplanes will not stop," the Kuwaiti imam warned in an October 2001 video that was played for the jury.

Jurors also saw frames of a video made on September 12, 2001, in which Abu Ghaith was seated next to bin Laden and two other top al-Qaeda leaders as they tried to justify the attacks.