The trial of four defendants linked to accused terrorist Osama Bin Laden for their role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania opened in New York on Monday with both the attorney and defense submitting their opening statements.
The four men are charged with the deaths of 12 US nationals who were among 224 killed in simultaneous explosions on August 7, 1998 at the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
More than 100 witnesses from six countries are scheduled to testify in the trial to which 12 jurors and six others on standby have been chosen, according to BBC.online.
The four accused are:
· Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 27, a Tanzanian, accused of conspiracy and murder in the Dar es Salaam bombing. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
· Mohamed Rashid Daoud al Owhali, 23, a Saudi, charged with conspiracy and murder in the embassy bombings. Accused of throwing a grenade at US embassy guards in Nairobi. He too faces the death penalty if convicted.
· Wadih el Hage, 40, a Lebanon-born US citizen, accused of conspiracy, but not direct involvement, in the bombings. Faces life in prison if convicted.
· Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, 35, of Jordan, accused of helping plan the bombing in Kenya. He too faces life in prison if convicted.
A fifth defendant, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, will be tried separately after he attacked a prison guard last November during one of the court hearings, according to the BBC. Three other suspects are awaiting extradition proceedings in Britain. Prosecutors have charged a total of 22 men in connection with the bombings.
Bin Laden, the alleged mastermind, is one of 13 still at large, said the news service.
The four defendants pleaded not guilty, said the reports.
Promising a "long, complicated and chilling" story, assistant US attorney Paul Butler's laid out the case against the four men accused of conspiracy in the bombings and plotting to kill Americans worldwide.
The trial, in a heavily guarded courtroom with US District Judge Leonard B. Sand presiding, began with opening statements from prosecutors who stuck to the story largely laid out in their 308-count indictment against the defendants, according to CNN.online.
"All four defendants entered into an illegal agreement with Osama bin Laden and others to kill Americans anywhere in the world they could be found," Butler said. "They each helped the best way they could. And in the end, 224 men, women and children from Kenya, Tanzania, and Americans lost their lives."
AFP said Tuesday that the trial will feature a former associate of exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.
"You'll have the extraordinary opportunity to hear from a witness who is a sworn member of al-Qaeda (the base)," said assistant district attorney Paul Butler, presenting the case to the jury.
"He'll tell you that he stole money from bin Laden, was caught and went on the run," Butler said.
He said after fleeing from bin Laden, the secret witness had approached the US government for cooperation and protection. He may appear in court as early as Tuesday.
"Listen to what he says about himself and the others," Butler urged the jurors.
The witness is known only as CS-1 -- despite effort by defense attorneys to find out his name.
Butler added that he intends to bolster the government case with confessions by at least one of the accused obtained while under detention in Kenya, added the agency.
According to CNN, an attorney for one of the two defendants facing the death penalty, Kahlfan Khamis Mohamed, conceded his client had a role in the bombings, but said he was a "pawn." An attorney for the other, Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, did not speak at all.
Another defendant, former US army sergeant Ali Mohamed, 48, has already pleaded guilty, and prosecutors are using his testimony in the case, according to BBC.
As far as the defense lawyers are concerned, said BBC, their clients are being prosecuted unfairly.
They claimed the men were on trial simply because of their association with Islamic militant Osama bin Laden – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
