Judge goes easy on terror sheik’s lawyer

? A civil rights lawyer who has defended Black Panthers and anti-war radicals was sentenced Monday to 28 months in prison – far less than the 30 years prosecutors wanted – for helping an imprisoned terrorist sheik communicate with his followers on the outside.

U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl said Lynne Stewart was guilty of smuggling messages between her client and his followers that could have “potentially lethal consequences.” He called the crimes “extraordinarily severe criminal conduct.”

But in departing from federal guidelines that called for 30 years behind bars, he cited Stewart’s more than three decades of dedication to poor, disadvantaged and unpopular clients. The judge said Stewart, 67, could remain free while she appeals, a process that could take more than a year.

Stewart was convicted in 2005 of providing material support to terrorists. She had released a statement issued by one of her clients, Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind sheik sentenced to life in prison for plotting to blow up five New York landmarks and assassinate Egypt’s president.

Stewart was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.