NEW YORK — Sulaiman Abu Ghayth, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who served as his spokesman, pleaded innocent in Manhattan federal court to an indictment charging him with conspiring to kill Americans after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Abu Ghayth, hands cuffed behind his back and wearing dark- blue prison garb, entered the plea Friday before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
The most senior al-Qaida member to face a civilian U.S. judge on charges stemming from the attacks, Abu Ghayth was captured by American agents after a decade-long manhunt as he sought to travel from Jordan to Kuwait. He was indicted for on accusations he plotted with bin Laden and other members of al-Qaida from 1989 until now to kill U.S. nationals.
Abu Ghayth, 47, is being held in the high-security wing of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public.
Abu Ghayth, captured by members of the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, faces life in prison if convicted, the government said.
The case is U.S. v. Abu Ghayth, 13-cr-01023, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.