Convicted Terror Plotter Faces Long Prison Term

MIAMI (AP) — Convicted terrorism plotter Jose Padilla is going before a Florida federal judge to face a longer prison term after a federal appeals court ruled his original sentence was too lenient.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke was to impose the new sentence at a hearing Tuesday. She originally gave Padilla more than 17 years behind bars for his 2007 convictions on charges of supporting al-Qaida and terrorism conspiracy.

Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence. Padilla's lawyer says he still deserves less.

Padilla was arrested by the FBI in 2002 on what authorities said was an al-Qaida mission to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" inside the U.S. Those accusations were later discarded.

Before trial, Padilla was held without charge under harsh, isolated conditions as an enemy combatant for over three years.