USA: Libyan al Qaeda suspect al-Liby pleads not guilty in New York court

Record ID: 859935

  • Title: USA: Libyan al Qaeda suspect al-Liby pleads not guilty in New York court
  • Date: 15th October 2013
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 15, 2013) (REUTERS) U.S. FEDERAL COURTHOUSE
  • Embargoed: 30th October 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA2RJKDBQMN243OZSAE76D54FSW
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  • Story Text: An alleged senior al Qaeda figure pleaded not guilty in federal court on Tuesday (October 15) to allegations he was involved in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Kenya.
    The appearance of Nazih al-Ragye, better known as Abu Anas al-Liby, comes 10 days after a U.S. Army squad captured him in Tripoli and sent him to a U.S. Navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea for interrogation.
    Al-Liby, wearing loose white sweat pants and a black sweatshirt, had his hands cuffed behind his back as he appeared in the federal court in New York. The court was packed with reporters and federal agents.
    U.S. officials initially said they expected al-Liby would be held aboard ship for weeks or months while under questioning by an elite U.S. interagency team known as the High-Value Target Interrogation Group, or HIG.
    But a law enforcement official said that, soon after his capture, it became clear to interrogators that al-Liby suffered from several pre-existing, chronic health conditions.
    The official said his transfer to the custody of civilian authorities in the United States was necessary because medical facilities aboard ship were not sophisticated enough to provide adequate care.
    U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan declined on Friday to assign a court-appointed attorney to al-Liby until he had been formally arrested by law enforcement.
    It was not immediately known whether al-Liby cooperated with U.S. interrogators or provided them with intelligence of any value. He was in military custody for about 10 days.
    U.S. officials say al-Liby remained a significant figure in al Qaeda. They said he served as a liaison between militant groups in Libya and North Africa and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian physician who now leads what remains of al Qaeda's core organization based in Pakistan.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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