WASHINGTON — A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that a 28-year prison sentence imposed on Libyan militant Ahmed Abu Khatallah for his role in the 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi was unreasonably lenient, ordering the case returned to a lower court for resentencing.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued the decision on Friday, concluding that the sentence failed to reflect the gravity of Khatallah's terrorism-related convictions stemming from the attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The panel vacated the sentence and remanded the case to the U.S. District Court in Washington for a new sentencing hearing.
The ruling marks the second time the appellate court has rejected Khatallah's punishment. In 2018, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper sentenced him to 22 years in prison. The appeals court later described that term as "shockingly" lenient and ordered resentencing. Cooper imposed a 28-year sentence in 2024, but the appellate panel found that revised punishment also fell short.
In its opinion, the court said Khatallah helped prepare and carry out a premeditated armed assault on a U.S. diplomatic compound and pressured a Libyan security force not to patrol the mission during the attack. The judges also cited evidence presented in court that Khatallah expressed regret only that more Americans had not been killed, concluding that the sentence did not adequately account for the seriousness of his conduct.
Khatallah was captured by U.S. forces in Libya in 2014 and brought to the United States for prosecution. Following a lengthy trial in federal court, a jury in 2017 convicted him on multiple terrorism-related offenses while acquitting him of murder and several other charges.
The Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on U.S. compounds in Benghazi killed Ambassador Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith, and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. The assault became a major political issue in Washington, prompting multiple congressional investigations into security at the diplomatic facilities and the U.S. government's response.
The case will now return to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Khatallah is to be resentenced in accordance with the appeals court's ruling. No new sentencing date had been announced as of Friday.
