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CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge in New Jersey has rejected the appeal of a Philadelphia man serving more than three decades behind bars after he was convicted of scheming to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, according to a ruling released Thursday.
Serdar Tatar, 32, had sought to have a judge vacate or shorten his sentence, arguing that his attorney was ineffective and the court wrongly applied rules extending his sentence.
A federal judge in Camden rejected the appeal, saying that Tatar made reasonable decisions throughout the case. U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler also said in the Feb. 9 ruling that federal judges have wide latitude in determining how long individuals convicted of terrorism-related crimes can be sentenced.
Tatar was one of five men convicted in 2008 of plotting a terror attack to kill soldiers at New Jersey's Fort Dix. Three members of the group are awaiting a ruling on arguments that their attorneys were ineffective. The group's fifth member is also pursuing an appeal.
Tatar was filmed in a training session in northeastern Pennsylvania and provided a map of Fort Dix to an associate.
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