Muslim Cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri Pleads Not Guilty To US Terrorism Charges
Radical Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 11 criminal counts in federal court including terrorism charges.
Al-Marsi, 54, who was extradited from Britain last week, has asked to be called Mostafa Kamel Mostafa (his birth name), reports Reuters. US District Court Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan has set the trial date for the Egyptian-born preacher, who is missing an eye and both of his hands, injuries he claims to have received while doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Hamza has been accused of participating in a 1998 hostage situation, which resulted in the deaths of three Britons and an Australian. He has also been charged with providing material support to the al-Qaeda network. The radical Islamist Imam attempted to set up a training camp in Oregon and has also attempted to organize support for the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The criminal counts against him include hostage taking, providing material support to terrorists, and conspiracy charges. The Imam could face as much as life in prison if he is convicted.
Hamza reportedly doesn’t have use of his prosthetics while incarcerated, a fact that his court-appointed lawyer, Jeremy Schneider, has said is unfair. Fox News notes that Schneider stated:
“I believe he has use of them for a certain part of the day but not long enough to allow him to function the way he should function. As you can well imagine, he’s not happy he’s in a situation like this without use of his prosthetics. He’s having a hard time. He doesn’t have hands.”
Along with Abu Hamza al-Masri, two other men have been brought from England to face terrorism charges: Khaled al-Fawwaz, 50, and Adel Abdul Bary, 52. The men have been charged with participating in the August 1998 bombings of embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, which killed 224 people.
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