Number of US terrorism cases dropping - study

WASHINGTON, Sep 5 (Reuters) The number of terrorism cases brought by the US government has dropped steadily in recent years and an increasing proportion are dropped due to lack of evidence, according to a new study.

After bringing 355 terrorism-related cases in 2002, shortly after the September. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks, the Justice Department filed only 46 cases in 2005 and 19 cases so far this year, according to an independent Syracuse University study released over the weekend.

At the same time, federal prosecutors have declined an increasing percentage of cases forwarded to them by investigators, most often due to lack of evidence.

US attorneys rejected 91 percent of all terrorism-related cases forwarded to them so far in 2006, up from 35 percent in 2002, the report found.

''Given the widely accepted belief that the threat of terrorism in all parts of the world is much larger today than it was six or seven years ago, the extent of the recent decline in prosecutions is unexpected,'' said the report by the school's nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

The report, based on Justice Department figures obtained through open-government laws, comes as the five-year anniversary of the hijacked aircraft attacks nears and President George W Bush is emphasizing the United States is still vulnerable to attacks by Islamic extremists.

The report also found that most of those found guilty on terrorism-related charges spent relatively little time in jail.

Those found guilty in the two years before the September. 11 attacks served a median sentence of 41 months, while those found guilty afterward served a median sentence of less than 28 days.

Only 5 percent of the 1,329 convicted received sentences of five or more years. More than half received no prison sentence whatsoever.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the study does not accurately portray the actions of a Justice Department focused on stopping terror attacks before they happen, rather than prosecuting them after the fact.

''I will gain little comfort from prosecuting someone who's been successful in killing American citizens,'' Gonzales told a news conference. ''I would much prefer to be able learn about a prospective plot, to prevent it and disrupt it, and to prosecute someone on perhaps a lesser offense.'' REUTERS DH PM0156