Bin Laden son-in-law accuses U.S. of torture, collusion with Iran.
In a motion seeking the dismissal of the case, lawyers for former al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith also claimed U.S. officials had colluded with Iran over his detention there for more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks.
The move marks the first salvo of a landmark legal battle in which Abu Ghaith’s lawyers will seek to challenge the U.S. government’s conduct in the “war on terror.”
Prosecutors declined to comment on the dismissal motion. They have three weeks to respond, and the judge then has two weeks to set a date for a ruling or a hearing on the issues raised.
Abu Ghaith was detained by U.S. agents in Jordan at the end of February and flown to New York. He was indicted on March 1 on a single count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
That move was decried by prominent Republicans who said he should have been treated as an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo Bay -- though human rights groups welcomed President Barack Obama’s decision to seek a civilian trial.
Abu Ghaith, a 47-year-old Kuwaiti national, is best-known for his incendiary statements alongside bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
In a speech cited by the U.S. government indictment, Abu Ghaith defended the attacks and warned Americans the “storms shall not stop, especially the airplanes storm.”
The defense team argues Abu Ghaith has effectively been declared guilty -- on the basis of his “mere association” with bin Laden -- of a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
They deny that his fiery rhetoric reflects direct involvement in any plot to kill Americans.
The motion presented to a U.S. District Court in Manhattan Friday seeks the dismissal of the charges, most notably for violation of due process and the defendant’s rights under the Speedy Trial Act.
The submission says Abu Ghaith was interrogated on the flight from Jordan under “capture shock” tactics designed to induce extreme vulnerability and terror in their client.
The tactics included being stripped naked, shackled and subjected to sensory deprivation through the use of blackout goggles and ear coverings, which the defendant says were refitted whenever he stopped answering questions.
The dismissal motion also alleges Abu Ghaith could have been brought to trial much sooner, given that the U.S. had been able to secure the smooth transfer of other al-Qaeda suspects from Iran in the years following 9/11.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)Read More>>>
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| A man believed to be Sulaiman Abu Ghaith in a still from a 2002 video. |
New York City | AFP | 20 Jul 2013 :: Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law on Friday asked a New York court to throw out terrorism charges against him, partly on the grounds he had been tortured on the flight that brought him to the United States.
In a motion seeking the dismissal of the case, lawyers for former al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith also claimed U.S. officials had colluded with Iran over his detention there for more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks.
The move marks the first salvo of a landmark legal battle in which Abu Ghaith’s lawyers will seek to challenge the U.S. government’s conduct in the “war on terror.”
Prosecutors declined to comment on the dismissal motion. They have three weeks to respond, and the judge then has two weeks to set a date for a ruling or a hearing on the issues raised.
Abu Ghaith was detained by U.S. agents in Jordan at the end of February and flown to New York. He was indicted on March 1 on a single count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
That move was decried by prominent Republicans who said he should have been treated as an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo Bay -- though human rights groups welcomed President Barack Obama’s decision to seek a civilian trial.
Abu Ghaith, a 47-year-old Kuwaiti national, is best-known for his incendiary statements alongside bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
In a speech cited by the U.S. government indictment, Abu Ghaith defended the attacks and warned Americans the “storms shall not stop, especially the airplanes storm.”
The defense team argues Abu Ghaith has effectively been declared guilty -- on the basis of his “mere association” with bin Laden -- of a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
They deny that his fiery rhetoric reflects direct involvement in any plot to kill Americans.
The motion presented to a U.S. District Court in Manhattan Friday seeks the dismissal of the charges, most notably for violation of due process and the defendant’s rights under the Speedy Trial Act.
The submission says Abu Ghaith was interrogated on the flight from Jordan under “capture shock” tactics designed to induce extreme vulnerability and terror in their client.
The tactics included being stripped naked, shackled and subjected to sensory deprivation through the use of blackout goggles and ear coverings, which the defendant says were refitted whenever he stopped answering questions.
The dismissal motion also alleges Abu Ghaith could have been brought to trial much sooner, given that the U.S. had been able to secure the smooth transfer of other al-Qaeda suspects from Iran in the years following 9/11.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)Read More>>>
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