Life imprisonment for Albanian immigrants in US

Camden, N.J., April 28 – Three Muslim Albanian brothers were sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for a plot to kill soldiers on a US Army base, which prosecutors said was inspired by the idea of a holy war against the United States.
Dritan Duka, 30, Shain Duka, 28, and Eljvir Duka, 25, all illegal immigrants, were each handed life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The three ran a roofing business in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and were among five foreign-born Muslims convicted in December of planning an attack at Fort Dix, about 40 miles east of Philadelphia. The attack was never carried out.
“The evidence was overwhelming as to the guilt of this defendant,” US District Judge Robert Kugler said in sentencing Dritan Duka to life plus 30 years in prison.
In sentencing Shain Duka, the judge said the severity of the crimes called for a “harsh and punitive” sentence.
Duka, wearing a green prison uniform and shackles at his ankles and wrists, read aloud a statement saying he was innocent and a victim of a conspiracy by the US government.
He said he and his brothers had been manipulated by co-defendant Mohamad Shnewer and Mahmoud Omar, an FBI informant who had infiltrated the group.
Defense attorneys argued during the eight-week trial that their clients were entrapped into making jihadist statements by Omar and another FBI informant who obtained hundreds of hours of audio and video recordings.
The defense argued the men may have used the language of extremism but had neither the intention nor the capability of carrying out the attack.
The Dukas’ father, Ferik Duka, in a statement to the court, denied his sons were terrorists.