An American citizen student charged with joining al-Qaeda and plotting to assassinate US President George W Bush was convicted last night on all counts.
The federal jury rejected Ahmed Omar Abu Ali's claim that Saudi security officers whipped and tortured him into a false confession.
Abu Ali, a 24-year-old US citizen born to a Jordanian father and raised in the US, could get life in prison on charges that included conspiracy to assassinate the president, conspiracy to hijack aircraft and providing support to al-Qaeda.
Abu Ali's lawyer, Khurrum Wahid, said he will appeal. He said his client "is disappointed that the jury didn't see the truth and he wants us to continue the fight."
Wahid said he believes it's difficult for any person to get a fair trial when the accusations involve al-Qaida.
"I think the country went through a very traumatic event on Sept. 11 and it's very difficult for people to separate that from the facts in a particular case," he said.
US Attorney Paul McNulty said in a statement that "the evidence presented in this case firmly established Abu Ali as a dangerous terrorist who posed a grave threat to our national security. ... It serves as a clear warning to all that terrorists can and will be brought to the bar of justice."
Jurors in the three-week trial saw a videotaped confession in which Abu Ali said he joined al-Qaida because he hated the United States for its support of Israel.
Notes taken by his Saudi interrogators said he discussed numerous potential terror plots, but the one that most appealed to him was killing "the leader of the infidels" - President Bush.
Defence lawyers argued that Abu Ali gave a false confession after being whipped and beaten by the Saudi security force known as the Mubahith.
AP