God is great, says underpants bomber as he is jailed for life

So-called underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab shouted 'God is great' as he was led from court after being sentenced to life in prison.

Handing down multiple life sentences, US District Judge Nancy Edmunds criticized the Nigerian al-Qaeda sympathizer for failing to show remorse, adding: "This is a just punishment."

Earlier, passengers and crew on Fight 253 from Amsterdam gave dramatic testimony about the moment Abdulmutallab attempted to set light to explosives smuggled in his underwear minutes before landing in Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.

The 25-year-old did not make eye contact as several described how the failed attack had devastated their lives.

Mother-of-two Shama Chopra from Montreal handed Abdulmutallab a rosary, telling the defendant: "As a mother, I feel for you. But you had no right to take my life."

Lamare Mason, a Northwest Flight attendant based in Detroit who put out the flames when Abdulmutallab tried to detonate the bomb, said: "Since that day, my life has changed.

"I had a dream job traveling the world. This man has stolen and robbed me of the pleasure of going to work."

Mr Mason said he woke up in night sweats because of the incident and has been in therapy. "His intentions were to end our lives," he added.

Another passenger, Theophilus Maranga, a New York immigration lawyer said he and his family prayed for Abdulmutallab, but that he was now afraid to fly following the incident.

"I don't believe in killing anyone in the name of God," Mr Maranga told the court.

Earlier in the hearing, Abdulmutallab lost an attempt to have the sentence reduced on the grounds that no one was injured in his failed attempt to bring down the Northwest Airlines flight.

He had already pleaded guilty to the attack, which left him with a badly burnt groin and caused panic on the plane.

Judge Edmunds rejected arguments by Abdulmutallab's lawyer that a punishment of life sentences for each of the passengers on board was unconstitutional because they were never at risk of death or serious injury.

Prosecutors also won a legal argument allowing them to screen an FBI video showing the damage which explosives of the quantity believed to have been carried by Abdulmutallab could cause.

As the video was played, the Nigerian shouted; "God is great, God is great," a cry he repeated as he was led from the court.

Nearly 300 passengers were on board the flight they were invited to address the sentencing hearing, but only a handful expressed an interest in taking up the offer.

Now 25, Abdulmatallab is the son of a wealthy Nigerian banker.

At an earlier hearing, he admitted being an al-Qaeda operative, and that he had carried out the plot to blow up the plane minutes before it landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on behalf of the terror group.

After performing a ritual cleansing in the airplane's bathroom, he returned to his seat and attempted to ignite the device he carried in his underwear. However, it produced smoke and small flames but did not cause any serious damage.

He changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial, saying he had been carrying a "blessed weapon" to avenge Muslims who have been killed or poorly treated around the world.

"The Koran obliges every able Muslim to participate in jihad and fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, and kill them wherever you find them ... an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk