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Shahawar Matin Siraj was convicted of plotting to bomb the city's subways in a federal courthouse yesterday. Siraj, a young Pakistani immigrant who was arrested before the 2004 Republican National Convention, had claimed he was entrapped by a police informant into admitting the plot, which also including bombing police precincts and bridges. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "The verdict is an important milestone in safeguarding New York against terrorist plotters, whether homegrown or foreign." The NY Times notes that Siraj's lawyer Martin Stolar, who painted a portrait of Siraj being a dim man "ripe for manipulation," was disappointed but still praised the jury: "They did not convict my client merely because he's a Muslim accused of terrorism. They believed that the evidence did not make out the defense of entrapment, and they followed the law."
Siraj will be sentenced in October; though the crime can be punished with a life sentence, many believe he'll receive 20 to 30 years.
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Side topic: Anyone know what occurred on the 59th Street uptown platform of the 4/5 yesterday afternoon? We had to evacuate our train and leave at 59th street at about 3:45pm and teh downtown end of the platform was completely covered in blood. Sprayed in droplets all over rather than pooled, and a myriad of cops of course were present. They oddly evacuated us right through the blood. I was too jolted by the scene to stick around and try to investigate. It just seemed the best place to NOT be, but I saw no mention on the news/web/etc.