Ex-Chicagoan's 17-year terror sentence rejected

September 19, 2011

The court has sent the case back to federal court for a new sentencing hearing.

Padilla and two others were convicted in 2007 of supporting Islamic extremist groups, including al-Qaida.

Padilla was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in 2002. Authorities suspected he was plotting to set off a dirty bomb. He was held as enemy combatant for more than three years.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the sentence imposed by a Miami federal judge was too lenient.

Padilla and two co-conspirators were convicted in 2007 after a three-month trial in which prosecutors said they sent money, recruits and supplies to Islamic extremist groups including al-Qaida. The appeals ruling upheld all the convictions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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