NEW YORK (Reuters) – A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden faces arraignment on Friday in a federal court in New York, where he is charged with conspiracy to kill Americans.
Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a militant who appeared in videos representing al Qaeda after the September 11, 2001 attacks, was arrested in Turkey and brought to New York City to stand trial, U.S. government sources said.
Abu Ghaith is one of the highest-ranking al Qaeda figures to be brought to the United States to face a civilian trial.
“Among other things, Abu Ghaith urged others to swear allegiance to bin Laden, spoke on behalf of and in support of al Qaeda’s mission, and warned that attacks similar to those of September 11, 2001 would continue,” according to the indictment, which was announced on Thursday.
It accuses him of acting in a conspiracy that “would and did murder United States nationals anywhere in the world,” listing actions before and after September 11, 2001.
Authorities said Abu Ghaith would be arraigned on Friday morning at U.S. District Court in downtown Manhattan, only blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder previously had announced plans to try defendants in the September 11 attacks in the same courthouse, but public opposition forced him to back down, and the trials were moved to the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Abu Ghaith initially was picked up in Turkey, deported to Jordan and brought to the United States in the last few days in an operation led by Jordanian authorities and the FBI, the sources said.
