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| Al-Qaeda spokesman Abu Ghaith takes stand in own trial | Al-Qaeda spokesman Abu Ghaith takes stand in own trial |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man accused of being al-Qaeda's spokesman after the 9/11 attacks on the US has taken the stand in his own defence at his trial in New York City. | |
| Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, is Osama Bin Laden's son-in-law. | |
| He has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to kill Americans, and his defence lawyers say he had no advance knowledge of the attacks. | He has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to kill Americans, and his defence lawyers say he had no advance knowledge of the attacks. |
| The case is one of the highest-profile terrorism trials in a US civilian court. | |
| On Wednesday, speaking through an interpreter Mr Abu Ghaith testified he travelled to Afghanistan in June 2001 because he had a "serious desire to get to know the new Islamic government" there. | |
| At the time, Afghanistan was nominally controlled by the Taliban Islamist militia. | |
| 'Our buildings burned' | |
| Despite knowing Bin Laden was suspected in terrorist attacks, Abu Ghaith said he heeded the al-Qaeda leader's summons while in the country. | |
| "I wanted to see what he had, what is it he wanted," he said. | |
| Mr Abu Ghaith said Bin Laden wanted the Kuwaiti-born preacher to reach the hearts of al-Qaeda recruits, to show them another side of life outside the harsh existence at the group's Afghanistan training camps. | |
| Prosecutors have argued Mr Abu Ghaith used the "murderous power of his words" to rally militants against America after the 11 September 2001 attacks. | |
| Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Lewin has previously said Mr Abu Ghaith spent time at the al-Qaeda camps inspiring the recruits to kill. | |
| Prosecutors also allege that he agreed to appear in the group's propaganda videos after 11 September 2001 to call for further violence "while our buildings still burned". | |
| Mr Abu Ghaith's remarks came a day after a judge ruled jurors would not hear testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. | |
| Mr Mohammed had previously written in a statement that Mr Abu Ghaith had no military role in al-Qaeda. | Mr Mohammed had previously written in a statement that Mr Abu Ghaith had no military role in al-Qaeda. |
| Mr Abu Ghaith was arrested last year in Turkey and brought to New York to face trial. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him. | |