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| Bin Laden 'aide' Sulaiman Abu Ghaith pleads not guilty | Bin Laden 'aide' Sulaiman Abu Ghaith pleads not guilty |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The man described as a spokesman for Osama Bin Laden has pleaded not guilty in New York to charges he helped plot the 9/11 attacks on the US. | The man described as a spokesman for Osama Bin Laden has pleaded not guilty in New York to charges he helped plot the 9/11 attacks on the US. |
| Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 47, was turned over to US officials in Jordan within the last week while on his way to Kuwait, authorities have said. | Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 47, was turned over to US officials in Jordan within the last week while on his way to Kuwait, authorities have said. |
| A Kuwaiti preacher, Mr Abu Ghaith is Bin Laden's son-in-law, officials said. | A Kuwaiti preacher, Mr Abu Ghaith is Bin Laden's son-in-law, officials said. |
| The Obama administration's decision to try him in civilian court has been criticised by Republicans. | The Obama administration's decision to try him in civilian court has been criticised by Republicans. |
| They say Mr Abu Ghaith should be sent to the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to face a military tribunal. | They say Mr Abu Ghaith should be sent to the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to face a military tribunal. |
| Bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 raid on his hideout in Pakistan by a team of US commandos. | Bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 raid on his hideout in Pakistan by a team of US commandos. |
| 'Incite US enemies' | 'Incite US enemies' |
| On Friday, Mr Abu Ghaith pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to kill US nationals, in a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan about half a mile (0.8km) from the site of the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. | |
| "Sulaiman Abu Ghaith held a key position in al-Qaeda, comparable to the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos. | "Sulaiman Abu Ghaith held a key position in al-Qaeda, comparable to the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos. |
| "He used his position to threaten the United States and incite its enemies." | "He used his position to threaten the United States and incite its enemies." |
| Attorney General Eric Holder said: "No amount of distance or time will weaken our resolve to bring America's enemies to justice." | Attorney General Eric Holder said: "No amount of distance or time will weaken our resolve to bring America's enemies to justice." |
| In court filings, US prosecutors say Mr Abu Ghaith served alongside Bin Laden from May 2001 to 2002, speaking on behalf of al-Qaeda and warning that attacks similar to 9/11 would continue. | In court filings, US prosecutors say Mr Abu Ghaith served alongside Bin Laden from May 2001 to 2002, speaking on behalf of al-Qaeda and warning that attacks similar to 9/11 would continue. |
| Specifically, on 12 September 2001, he appeared with Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to warn the US that a "great army is gathering against you" and called upon "the nation of Islam" to do battle against "the Jews, the Christians and the Americans", prosecutors wrote. | |
| A one-time teacher and mosque preacher in Kuwait, Mr Abu Ghaith was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship after 9/11. | A one-time teacher and mosque preacher in Kuwait, Mr Abu Ghaith was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship after 9/11. |
| In 2002, as the US launched a war in Afghanistan to defeat al-Qaeda and its Taliban hosts, Mr Abu Ghaith fled al-Qaeda's Afghanistan base for neighbouring Iran, prosecutors allege. | |
| He was reportedly smuggled into Iran with two other senior al-Qaeda leaders. Unconfirmed reports said they were held under house arrest by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. | |
| US authorities have released little information about Mr Abu Ghaith's capture. | US authorities have released little information about Mr Abu Ghaith's capture. |
| Reports suggest he crossed into Turkey from Iran and was arrested by the authorities in the Turkish capital Ankara. | Reports suggest he crossed into Turkey from Iran and was arrested by the authorities in the Turkish capital Ankara. |
| FBI involvement | FBI involvement |
| Turkish authorities were in the process of deporting him to Kuwait, but during a stop-over in Jordan he was handed over to US authorities, reports say. | Turkish authorities were in the process of deporting him to Kuwait, but during a stop-over in Jordan he was handed over to US authorities, reports say. |
| A Jordanian security official told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Abu Ghaith was given to US officials last week under the countries' extradition treaty. | A Jordanian security official told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Abu Ghaith was given to US officials last week under the countries' extradition treaty. |
| Reports also indicate that the FBI took the lead role in the operation, as part of a multi-agency body, the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group. | Reports also indicate that the FBI took the lead role in the operation, as part of a multi-agency body, the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group. |
| The group was set up after President Barack Obama shut down a controversial CIA programme that had detained suspects in a network of secret prisons under George W Bush's administration. | The group was set up after President Barack Obama shut down a controversial CIA programme that had detained suspects in a network of secret prisons under George W Bush's administration. |
| Mr Abu Ghaith's trial will mark one of the first prosecutions of senior al-Qaeda leaders on US soil. | Mr Abu Ghaith's trial will mark one of the first prosecutions of senior al-Qaeda leaders on US soil. |
| Since 9/11, 67 foreign terror suspects have been convicted in US federal courts, according to data obtained by the group Human Rights First. | Since 9/11, 67 foreign terror suspects have been convicted in US federal courts, according to data obtained by the group Human Rights First. |
| Some US lawmakers disagreed with the decision to try Mr Abu Ghaith in New York. | Some US lawmakers disagreed with the decision to try Mr Abu Ghaith in New York. |
| "When we find somebody like this, this close to Bin Laden and the senior al-Qaeda leadership, the last thing in the world we want to do, in my opinion, is put them in a civilian court," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday. | "When we find somebody like this, this close to Bin Laden and the senior al-Qaeda leadership, the last thing in the world we want to do, in my opinion, is put them in a civilian court," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday. |
| "This man should be in Guantanamo Bay." | "This man should be in Guantanamo Bay." |
| A senior administration official told the BBC that Mr Obama's national security team "unanimously agreed" that prosecution of Mr Abu Ghaith in federal court was in America's national security interests. | A senior administration official told the BBC that Mr Obama's national security team "unanimously agreed" that prosecution of Mr Abu Ghaith in federal court was in America's national security interests. |
| "The administration is seeking to close Guantanamo, not add to its population," the official said. | "The administration is seeking to close Guantanamo, not add to its population," the official said. |