Libyan terror suspect appears in U.S. court

PanARMENIAN.Net - A suspected Libyan militant leader seized earlier this month in a U.S. raid in Tripoli has appeared for a second time in a federal court in New York. Abu Anas al-Liby was represented by a lawyer paid for by the Libyan government, a source involved in the case said, according to BBC News.

Liby is accused of having links with al-Qaeda and of involvement with the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998. He has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges.

Liby, 49, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, appeared in court Tuesday, Oct 22, to discuss his legal counsel. At his previous hearing, Liby was represented by court-appointed public defenders, having said he could not afford an attorney of his own.

A source involved in the case told the BBC at the court that the Libyan government had decided to hire a lawyer to represent him. His lawyer, Bernard Kleinman, declined to say who had retained him but said there was no conflict of interest.

Kleinman told the court that it would take several months to sort through hundreds of thousands of documents before the case could proceed. He also requested the return of Liby's personal copy of the Koran which he said had been confiscated during his capture.

Kleinman said he had met Liby for the first time earlier on Tuesday. He told the judge that he represents at least one prisoner held at the U.S. detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Liby's next court appearance was set for December 12.

According to Reuters, Kleinman said it will take several months to sort through hundreds of thousands of documents before the case can proceed.

There has been anger in Libya over the U.S. commando raid on October 5, which many say was a breach of Libyan sovereignty.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan argued that Libyan nationals should be tried in Libya. However, he said that ties between Tripoli and Washington would not be affected by the issue.

Liby was first put on a U.S. Navy ship for interrogation but brought to the U.S. when his health began to deteriorate after he stopped eating and drinking, a U.S. official said.

Liby had been on the FBI's most wanted list for more than a decade, with a $5mln bounty on his head. He was indicted by a New York grand jury in absentia in 2000. The attacks on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and the U.S. diplomatic mission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands. Most of the victims were civilians.