NY man sentenced to life for killing BD Imam, his assistant
Jago News Desk Published: 7 June 2018, 09:01 AM
FILE- Oscar Morel appears in a Queens courtroom in New York, Aug. 16, 2016. Morel was convicted March 23, 2018, of first-degree murder for the broad daylight killings of a Muslim cleric Imam Maulana Akonjee and his assistant Thara Uddin, and was sentenced Wednesday.
A New York man convicted of killing a Bangladeshi cleric and his aide has been sentenced to life in prison.
Oscar Morel gunned down Imam Maulana Akonjee and Thara Uddin as they walked home after prayers at a mosque in Queens.
Morel, who will never be eligible for parole, shot the men in the head from behind in August 2016.
Some members of the Queens Muslim community called the killings a hate crime, since the victims were from Bangladesh. But prosecutors said they could not ascertain a motive.
Morel has denied any involvement in the incident.
Source: Voice of America
