“Trial of Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law begins”
By Adam Goldman, Published: March 5, 2014
http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/03/05/65870.htm
COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
By ADAM KLASFELD
March 5, 2014
SNIPPET: “MANHATTAN (CN) - Opening arguments for biggest terrorism trial to hit federal courts in recent memory began with a mention of the worst attacks on U.S. soil and ended with a reference to the infamous massacre that preceded the nation’s founding.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lewis set the stage for his remarks with the words, “It was the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001,” when nearly 3,000 people died in attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
On “the most important night in al-Qaida’s savage history,” Osama bin Laden needed a man to “rally his troops,” Lewin said, as he moved behind the defense table.
“Osama bin Laden turned to this man, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, the defendant,” Lewin added, pointing at the accused man’s back.
Attorneys for neither party mentioned that Abu Ghaith was bin Laden’s son-in-law.
The prosecutor said that Abu Ghaith accepted bin Laden’s offer and appeared the next morning with him and bin Laden’s then-deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. Speaking on behalf of al-Qaida, Abu Ghaith allegedly warned the United States and its allies that a “great army is gathering against you.””