Yesterday, Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri took the stand at his Manhattan federal court trial to address allegations of prosecutors that he had aided terrorist group al-Qaeda or had taken part in taking US nationals in Yemen as hostage in December 1998. Four of the US nationals, who were tourists in the country, were killed, Bloomberg said.
Abu Hamza's lawyer, Josh Dratel, had questioned his client with questions regarding his alleged deployment of followers to aid the terrorist group carry out its activities, which included the hostage-taking, and his attempt to establish a training camp in Oregon for al-Qaeda. It was noted that the defendant answered all of the questions in English, but it was not established on whether there was an interpreter in court.
During the trial, two American women gave their testimonies in relation to the hostage-taking in Yemen. The two were part of the tourist group who had been traveling in Yemen when a group of men decked with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades overtook them on a highway outside Aden. Prosecutors have claimed that the group were Abu Hamza's followers, who had provided the group with a satellite phone that was used in the attacks.
According to the women, the tourist group were ordered to stand in line on top of a sand dune to act as their captors' human shield while the latter hide behind the victims and fired through their legs. The women's testimonies recalled an attempt to rescue the US tourists by Yemeni government forces, the US government had said.
Abu Hamza faces 11 counts in terrorism-related charges, which include conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists. The most serious charge filed against the 56 year-old carries a life prison sentence as maximum penalty.
Formerly known as Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, the Alexandria-born cleric acquired British citizenship in 1986. In 2006, he was convicted of inciting followers to murder non-Muslims including Jews via the fiery sermons he is known for at a mosque between the years 1997 and 2000. He had been sentenced by a court to seven years in prison, Bloomberg said.
