A former Brooklyn College student has been sentenced to fifteen years in jail after pleading guilty to providing what prosecutors called military gear to al-Qaeda. Syed Fahad Hashmi plead guilty after being held in twenty-three-hour solitary confinement for nearly three years. The government’s case against Hashmi rested on the testimony and actions of an old acquaintance of Hashmi’s who turned government informant after his own arrest. Prosecutors allege Hashmi knowingly allowed the informant to store waterproof socks, ponchos and sleeping bags at his house for two weeks. The rain gear was allegedly later delivered to al-Qaeda members in Pakistan. On Wednesday, Hashmi addressed the court for twenty minutes. He attributed his “many, many mistakes” to a misunderstanding of Islam and being manipulated by others. One of Hashmi’s defense attorneys, Sean Maher, spoke to reporters after the sentencing.

Sean Maher: “To finally be able to say something to the judge, I think, was very moving for Mr. Hashmi. Those who were in court saw how his voice quavered, how he had real emotion. He had to stop a few times because of the emotion that welled within him. I think people saw his true remorse come across. I think people also heard his very legitimate criticisms of US government foreign policy and the treatment, the inhumane treatment, that this government has utilized against Muslim prisoners who are charged with what we’d call political crimes.”