NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, who's now in custody in New York, gave an "extensive" statement after his arrest last week. But they're not saying what was in the statement, which they say totaled 22 pages.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case says Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (SOO'-lay-mahn AH'-boo GAYTH) initially agreed to be interviewed without an attorney at the FBI office in lower Manhattan immediately after he arrived a week ago. Later in the day, they say, he requested a lawyer and was interviewed with the lawyer present.
Abu Ghaith had been arrested last week in Jordan. Today, he was in a New York courtroom, where he entered a plea of not guilty to plotting against Americans before and immediately after the 9/11 attacks in his role as al-Qaida's top spokesman.
There was no request for bail, and none was granted. The judge says he will set a court date next month. Prosecutors say a trial will last about three weeks.
The Obama administration has sought to charge senior al-Qaida suspects in federal courts instead of at military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. But Republicans in Congress have said they don't want high-threat terror suspects brought into the United States.
%@AP Links
172-c-17-(Warren Levinson, AP correspondent)-"for April eighth"-AP correspondent Warren Levinson reports former al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith barely spoke during the brief hearing. (replaces cut 162 which contained an error) (8 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *172 (03/08/13)>> 00:17 "for April eighth"
171-v-29-(Warren Levinson, AP correspondent)--A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden has appeared in federal court to answer terrorism charges. AP correspondent Warren Levinson reports from New York. (replaces cut 161 which had an error) (8 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *171 (03/08/13)>> 00:29
162-c-12-(Warren Levinson, AP correspondent)-"for April eighth"-AP correspondent Warren Levinson reports former Osama bin Laden spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith made his first appearance today in a New York federal court. (Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is pronounced(SOO'-lay-mahn AH'-boo GAYTH') (8 Mar 2013)
<<CUT *162 (03/08/13)>> 00:12 "for April eighth"
GRAPHICSBANK: US Grand Jury Indictment (page one detail) against Sulaiman Abu Ghayth, US District Court - Southern District of New York, partial graphic (8 Mar 2013)
APPHOTO NY114: This image made available by Al-Jazeera shows Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and spokesman. Abu Ghaith has been captured by the United States, officials said Thursday, March 7, 2013, in what a senior congressman called a "very significant victory" in the fight against al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Al-Jazeera) (7 Mar 2013)
<<APPHOTO NY114 (03/07/13)>>
APPHOTO NYR101: In this courtroom drawing, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, leans forward as he is handcuffed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, after a hearing where he pleaded not guilty Friday, March 8, 2013, to plotting against Americans in his role as al-Qaida's top spokesman. The case marks a legal victory for the Obama administration, which has long sought to charge senior al-Qaida suspects in U.S. federal courts instead of holding them at the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams) (8 Mar 2013)
<<APPHOTO NYR101 (03/08/13)>>
