Bin Laden Son-in-Law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Pleads Not Guilty to Terrorism Charges in US Court
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, pleaded not guilty in a New York courtroom on Friday on charges of terrorism.
The legal case against Ghaith began on Thursday and his indictment stated that he is officially charged with conspiracy to kill Americans, according to The New York Times. Ghaith faces a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted for the terrorism charges.
The 47-year-old is currently one of the most senior al-Qaida officials to face a criminal trial in the U.S., according to Reuters.
The al-Qaida propagandist and former spokesperson for the group was arrested in Turkey last month for entering the country illegally with a fake passport. Turkey was in the process of returning him to his home country of Kuwait but during a stopover in Amman, Jordan, he was apprehended by U.S. officials who took Ghaith into custody. He was then flown to New York to face the charges against him.
U.S. attorney Preet Bharara was quoted by The Washington Post saying that it has been a few years since Ghaith had an operational role in al-Qaida.
"It has been 13 years since Abu Ghaith allegedly worked alongside Osama bin Laden in his campaign of terror, and 13 years since he allegedly took to the public airwaves, exhorting others to embrace al-Qaeda's cause and warning of more terrorist attacks like the mass murder of 9/11," Bharara said.
U.S. government officials have already talked with Gaith, who allegedly gave up intelligence on the current status of the al-Qaeda terrorist group. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) was quoted by ABC News saying that the information Ghaith has provided so far "is huge."
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee added, "This is a man who is in the inner circle of bin Laden's al-Qaeda operations and now we have him alive and he's talking."
Bin Laden's son-in-law also supposedly provided valuable intelligence from the extensive time he spent in Iranian prison.
Ghaith is married to the deceased terrorist leader's daughter Fatima.
