U.S. prosecutors use London imam's words against him at trial
By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday showed jurors excerpts from sermons and interviews in which London imam Abu Hamza praised former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a “hero,” called non-Muslims “pigs” and said the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States made “everybody” happy. During the final day of testimony in Abu Hamza's terrorism trial in New York, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Cronan used Abu Hamza's own words to try to undermine his claims of innocence, confronting him with the inflammatory speeches that made him one of Britain’s most prominent radical clerics. The one-eyed, handless preacher complained that the government was cherry-picking quotes out of context. “You just cut and paste,” a frustrated Abu Hamza told Cronan. “Why don’t you play the whole thing?” Prosecutors have accused the Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, 56, of providing advice and a satellite phone to Yemeni militants who kidnapped Western tourists in 1998 in an operation that ended with the deaths of four hostages. He is also charged with sending two men to Oregon to establish a jihadist training camp and dispatching followers and money to Afghanistan to support al Qaeda and the Taliban. Abu Hamza was the sole defense witness in the four-week trial. Closing arguments are scheduled for Wednesday. The cross-examination drew a crowd of onlookers, including Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, whose office is handling the case. Previously, U.K. prosecutors used Abu Hamza’s words to convict him of inciting violence through his sermons. He served eight years in prison before his extradition to the United States. During more than two days of questioning from his lawyer, Abu Hamza had said his only offense was employing fiery language to reach extremists. He denied sending anyone to Oregon or Afghanistan and claimed he got involved in the Yemen kidnapping only to serve as a peacemaker. On Tuesday, Cronan replayed some Abu Hamza statements to show him to the jury in a different light. In one video, Abu Hamza said non-believers in Muslim countries could be seized, enslaved and even killed. In another, he called bin Laden "an example for all of the mujahideen." “That was you speaking, right?” Cronan asked after playing one clip. “You want to give me another seven years for it?” Abu Hamza replied, adding that he had apologized for the videos that led to his U.K. conviction. Cronan also pressed Abu Hamza on his testimony last week that he “loved” bin Laden. Abu Hamza replied that he admired bin Laden for some things but also held him responsible for inflicting pain on the Afghani people. He also said bin Laden’s call in 1998 for U.S. civilians to be killed was “against Islamic teaching.” Abu Hamza claimed last week he lost his hands and eye in an accidental explosion in Pakistan, contradicting past accounts that he was injured fighting Soviets in Afghanistan. (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Noeleen Walder and David Gregorio)
