An Islamic State supporter behind the deadliest terrorist attack in New York since 9/11 has been told he will die in prison with multiple life sentences. Sayfullo Saipov killed eight people while driving a truck into pedestrians and cyclists on the streets of Manhattan in 2017.
He was sentenced to 10 life sentences – eight in a row – plus 260 years in prison and will never be released.
At sentencing, it was said he had “ruined so many lives” – but he showed no remorse during the trial.
Saipov faced the victim’s family and survivors in court, with the judge noting his “pure and unrepentant nature” in sentencing Wednesday. The Uzbek citizen, now 35, used a rented truck to randomly attack cyclists and pedestrians on the west side of downtown Manhattan on Halloween night 2017.
He shouted “Great God” in Arabic and was shot by police as he got out of his car. He hopes the brutality will allow him to become a member of the group, it was said in an earlier hearing.
New York truck attack: who is the victim? He is expected to be held in a high-security “super max” prison in Colorado, where inmates spend up to 23 hours a day in their cells. Monica Missio, the mother of victim Nicholas Cleves, said in the courtroom: ‘I find it disgusting that he wakes up every day while my son doesn’t.
“His savagery and cruelty drove me to rage,” she said.
Rachel Pharn, an attack survivor, said she could forgive Saipov for the impact on herself, but could not forgive the pain he caused others who came to hear the announcement. judgment.
She added: “As I look around the room, when I think about all the pain you’ve caused, which I cannot forgive. It’s between you, them, and Allah.”
Five of the dead were Argentine tourists and a 31-year-old Belgian woman visiting the city was also killed.
Two Americans, a 32-year-old financier and a 23-year-old software engineer, were killed, while 12 others were injured. U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick said Saipov’s crimes were notable “both for the impact they had on the victims and the innocent and unrepentant nature of the defendant.”
Speaking in court before sentencing, Saipov appeared to repeat his praise for the terrorist group and showed he was unmoved by the testimony he had heard.
He was spared the death penalty when the jury failed to agree on the death penalty at a hearing last week.
