Osama bin Laden's son-in-law pleads not guilty to terror charges
Osama bin Laden's son-in-law pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges in a New York court on Friday, becoming the closest member of the al-Qaeda leader's family to face the US justice system.
Suleiman Abu Ghaith, the spokesman of alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, claiming responsibility for the September 11 suicide attacks in the United States. Photo: GETTY
By Raf Sanchez, Washington 6:13PM GMT 08 Mar 2013
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith allegedly acted as terror group's chief spokesman at the time of September 11 and appeared alongside bin Laden the morning after the attacks to warn America that "a great army is gathering against you".
The 47-year-old was reportedly captured several weeks ago in Turkey before being deported to Jordan, where he was handed over to the FBI and secretly brought to the US.
He wore a blue prison uniform as he appeared in a Manhattan court just blocks away from the site of the World Trade Center and denied taking part in a conspiracy to kill Americans.
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith indictment by Raf Sanchez
Prosecutors disclosed that he had made an "extensive" 22-page statement after his capture, raising the possibility that he may cooperate with the US hunt for al-Qaeda's remaining leaders.
Ghaith is alleged to have been a member of bin Laden's inner circle and to have strengthened his relationship with the terror leader by marrying his daughter, Fatima.
In the weeks after the September 11 attacks he released a series of statement taunting the US and calling for jihad against the West.
"The Americans should know that the storm of plane attacks will not abate," he said. "There are thousands of the Islamic nation's youths who are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live."
Ghaith was smuggled out of Afghanistan in the wake of the 2001 allied invasion and is believed to have spent much of the last decade in captivity in Iran.
He and members of his family were reportedly held hostage by Tehran's Shia leaders to ensure that the Sunni-led al-Qaeda did not carry out attacks in Iran.
Ghaith's trial in a civilian court, due to start April 8, is unusual in an era where terror suspects are more commonly killed by US drone strikes.
It also represents a victory for the White House, whose efforts to try terror suspects in federal courts have been continually hampered by Republicans in Congress, who insist they should face military trials at Guantánamo Bay.
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