{{An alleged senior al Qaeda figure pleaded not guilty in federal court on Tuesday to involvement in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, which killed more than 200 people.}}
Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Nazih al-Ragye, better known as Abu Anas al-Liby, detained without bail as a flight risk, saying, “There are no conditions under which he could be released and ensure the safety of the community.”
Al-Liby’s court appearance comes 10 days after a U.S. Army Delta Force squad captured him in Tripoli and sent him to a U.S. Navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea for interrogation. He was brought to the United States during the weekend when his health began deteriorating.
Al-Liby, bearing a stern face and a long gray beard, walked slowly into the federal courtroom in New York. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he wore loose gray sweat pants, a black sweatshirt and beige socks with black flip-flop sandals.
Al-Liby faces several charges, including conspiring to kill U.S. nationals. The Nairobi bombing came the same day as an attack on a U.S. Embassy in Tanzania.
The courtroom was packed with reporters and law enforcement officials, including U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who declined to comment after the hearing.
Al-Liby, 49, spoke briefly during the hearing, saying through an interpreter that he understood the proceedings and could not afford a lawyer. A green Koran was on the table in front of him.
After his capture, Al-Liby was taken to a U.S. Navy ship for interrogation. Agents abandoned his interrogation after his health deteriorated and he stopped eating and drinking, a U.S. official said. His wife has said in media interviews that he suffers from hepatitis C.
Kaplan said during the hearing that he signed a medical order for al-Liby but he did not elaborate. David Patton, a federal defender representing al-Liby for the hearing, declined to comment to reporters on al-Liby’s health after the hearing.
Patton said he had translated three paragraphs of the indictment against al-Liby and had “given him a general sense” of the indictment.
{agencies}
Leave a Reply