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NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City-born man serving a 15-year prison sentence for supporting al-Qaida failed to prove the U.S. government was too slow or inefficient in its treatment of his medical needs after his 2010 arrest, a judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods said a trial last week failed to produce evidence that a medical condition that will require lifelong treatment for Wesam El-Hanafi was worsened by the quality or speed with which it was diagnosed by doctors who treated the prisoner for the last five years.
The judge said any delay in the treatment of his deep vein thrombosis would not be the approximate cause of his injuries.
El-Hanafi, 40, complained of a stinging pain in the back of his calf after he was handcuffed and shackled following a 16-hour plane trip when he was brought to the United States in April 2010 from Dubai to face trial.
Woods found El-Hanafi's testimony credible, saying it was consistent with the testimony and records of those who treated him. But he said El-Hanafi failed to prove breach of duty by doctors who treated him and he noted that he did not see signs that El-Hanafi was suffering physically during the four-day trial.
El-Hanafi sued the U.S. government in 2013 for $7 million.
He pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaida and was sentenced last year after he apologized for making the "worst choices."
Prosecutors said he supported al-Qaida from 2007 to late 2009 by contributing tens of thousands of dollars and sending his contacts a remote-control toy car whose components could be used in an explosive device. They said he also provided technical advice about computers, including encryption software so information could be transmitted without being detected.
Prosecutors said El-Hanafi directed his co-defendant at al-Qaida's request to provide surveillance of the New York Stock Exchange, though the one-page report they produced was rudimentary and of limited use.
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