Co-Plotter of ‘Shoe Bomber’ Gets 13 Years

LONDON — A judge sentenced a British man to 13 years in prison Friday after he admitted to conspiring with “shoe bomber” Richard Reid to blow up a transatlantic jetliner in 2001.

Judge Adrian Fulford said he believed that Saajid Badat backed out of a plot with Reid, who was overpowered by passengers when he attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22, 2001, with 197 people on board.

Prosecutors said Badat, 25, of Gloucester, England, had conspired to detonate a bomb in his shoe on a different flight to the U.S. from Amsterdam, in a plan coordinated with Reid. But Badat had second thoughts and never bought a ticket for the flight, they said.

The U.S. destination of that flight was not specified in court.

Badat pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge two months ago.

If Badat had been convicted at trial without pleading guilty, the judge said Friday that he would have recommended a sentence of at least 50 years.

But Fulford said he believed that Badat had a genuine change of heart.

He said he balanced the need for strong deterrents in terrorism cases with Badat’s evident remorse.

British convicts typically are eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence, so Badat could be released in a little more than eight years.

According to prosecutors, Badat was trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While in Afghanistan, he was given an explosive device designed to evade airport security and destroy an aircraft in flight.

Badat returned to Britain on Dec. 10, 2001, with the device.

The detonating cords on Reid’s explosive device matched those on Badat’s bomb, prosecutors said.

Reid was arrested after his flight was diverted to Boston. He was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the charges.