Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, today issued the following statement on the sentencing of al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Ghailani:

“Today is another important day in our efforts to incapacitate al-Qaeda terrorists. Ahmed Ghailani has been sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to destroy the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, where bombs killed 224 people and injured more than 1,000. It is important to note that there is no parole in the federal system, so Ghailani will be behind bars for the rest of his life.”

Despite recent criticism of putting terrorists on trial in our federal court system, today’s sentence shows that federal criminal courts continue to deliver the punishment that terrorists deserve. And a life sentence is longer than many sentences we have seen in the military commission system in recent years.

The President should have the flexibility to determine on a case-by-case basis whether to use a federal criminal court or military commission. None of the tools of counterterrorism, including criminal prosecutions, should be ruled out—and political differences should be set aside in favor of what works best in each case.”

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