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            Terror Trial for Bin Laden Son-In-Law Opens in New York

   by Carolyn Weaver

   An anonymous jury in New York City has heard opening statements in the
   terror trial of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden,
   on charges that include conspiracy to kill Americans.
   Federal prosecutors say Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti imam known for
   his fiery preaching, moved to Afghanistan in early 2001 to join Osama
   Bin Laden's inner circle. He visited terror training camps there, they
   said, to rally fighters. Hours after the September 11 terror attacks,
   he allegedly joined Osama Bin Laden in a video that celebrated the
   attacks and urged Muslims worldwide to pick up arms to fight against
   what they called "the friends of Satan."
   Over the next year, said prosecutor Nicholas Lewin, Abu Ghaith made
   more such videos seeking new recruits for al-Qaida and threatening new
   attacks, including what he called a "storm of airplanes," against
   Britain and the U.S.
   Abu Ghaith, who is married to a daughter of Osama bin Laden, is charged
   with conspiring to kill Americans and conspiring to and providing
   material support to al-Qaida. He could be sentenced to life in prison
   if he is convicted.


   But Abu Ghaith's defense attorneys said the case is only about words
   and associations. Lead attorney Stanley Cohen called Abu Ghaith a
   "Muslim, an Arab, a husband and a father." He added that while Abu
   Ghaith said terrible things that would outrage the jury, the only
   correct verdict is not guilty.
   Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham
   Law School, said attorneys on both sides have agreed not to mention
   that Abu Ghaith was a son-in-law of Bin Laden.

   "Part of this is going to hinge on how close he was to Bin Laden, which
   is what the prosecution opened with today, and so having that taken
   away, it's one piece of how close he was to Bin Laden," said Greenberg.
   Abu Ghaith was brought to New York from Jordan last year, after having
   lived in Iran for much of the last decade. Prosecutors plan to play for
   jurors a confession he allegedly made on the flight.
   The anonymous jury of nine women and three men also will hear testimony
   from two cooperating witnesses, including a British man who will
   testify in a video feed about plotting with "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.
   The other is a man who will testify about hearing Abu Ghaith call for
   jihad in Afghanistan. Officials say he is the highest-ranking al-Qaida
   member yet to be tried in the U.S.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/terror-trial-for-bin-laden-soninlaw-o
   pens-in-new-york/1865193.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/terror-trial-for-bin-laden-soninlaw-opens-in-new-york/1865193.html