Nigerian underwear bomber faces life sentence

Alain Ghonda travels the globe with heightened awareness after Christmas 2009, when a plane he was on could have been destroyed in midair by a terrorist smuggling a bomb in his underwear.

"After having that experience, you do not know who's sitting next to you," said Ghonda, 40, a consultant from Silver Spring, Md., who was a passenger on the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight. "They may look like passengers, but they might want to harm you."

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the privileged son of a wealthy Nigerian banker, returns to federal court in Detroit on Thursday to receive a mandatory life sentence for trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253, four months after pleading guilty and admitting it was a suicide mission for al-Qaida.

The hearing is an open platform for passengers and crew who want to speak, but only five of nearly 300 are expected to address the court, according to the government.

Abdulmutallab, 25, tried to detonate explosive chemicals that were hidden in his underwear minutes before the plane landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The government says he first performed a ritual in the lavatory — brushing his teeth and perfuming himself — and returned to his seat. The device didn't work as planned, but still produced flame, smoke and panic in the cabin.

"I've become bolder. I've become stronger," said passenger Shama Chopra, 56, of Montreal, who plans to speak in court. She ran unsuccessfully for the Canadian Parliament in 2011, a race she couldn't have imagined joining years ago.

"I don't have to feel weak," Chopra said in an interview Wednesday. "I don't have to be scared of anything. God has given me a second chance to live."

On the second day of the trial in October, Abdulmutallab suddenly pleaded guilty to all charges. In a defiant speech, he said he was carrying a "blessed weapon" to avenge Muslims who have been killed or poorly treated around the world. He admitted he was inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric and leading al-Qaida figure in Yemen who was killed by a U.S. drone strike last fall.

"The Quran obliges every able Muslim to participate in jihad and fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, and kill them wherever you find them ... an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," Abdulmutallab said.

Anthony Chambers, an attorney appointed to assist Abdulmutallab, believes the Nigerian will speak again Thursday but doesn't know what he'll say.

Chambers, meanwhile, is urging U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds to declare that a mandatory life sentence is unconstitutional, claiming it is a cruel punishment in a case where no one but Abdulmutallab was physically hurt. His groin was badly burned.

"Not one passenger lost his or her life. Not one passenger suffered life-threatening injuries," Chambers said.

The government said that is not the threshold.

"Unsuccessful terrorist attacks still engender fear in the broader public, which, after all, is one of their main objectives," prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday. "In addition, the enormous cost of the augmented security measures adopted as a direct result of defendant's unsuccessful terrorist attack are borne by the American public at large in both increased cost, inconvenience and wasted time at airports."

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Farouk Abdulmutallab pleads guilty to underwear bomb attack

Farouk Abdulmutallab said Wednesday he tried to bring down an international flight over Detroit with a bomb in his underwear in retaliation for the killing of Muslims worldwide, taking a federal court by surprise as he pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had never denied the accusations against him, calmly answered questions from U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds before pleading guilty to all eight charges he faced, including conspiracy to commit terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

He then told the court that the underwear bomb was a "blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims."

"The United States should be warned that if they continue to persist and promote the blasphemy of Mohammed and the prophets ... the United States should await a great calamity that will befall them through the hands of the mujahedeen soon," said Abdulmutallab, who faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

"If you laugh with us now we will laugh with you later on the day of judgment," he said.

Outside court, defense attorney Anthony Chambers said Abdulmutallab, who had chosen to represent himself and was being assisted by Chambers, pleaded guilty against the lawyer's wishes.

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'Underwear bomber' Farouk Abdulmutallab to begin trial

The trial of a Nigerian man accused of an attempting to bomb a Detroit-bound flight with explosives sewn into his underwear is set to begin.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, originally planned to defend himself, but his court-appointed lawyer will at least make the opening statement.

Mr Abdulmutallab faces a series of charges, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

If convicted, he could face a lifelong prison sentence.

The US government says Mr Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit as it landed on Christmas 2009.

The bomb, however, did not work and he was badly burned instead.

'Driving the bus'

During last week's jury selection, Mr Abdulmutallab alternately questioned potential jurors himself or sat silent as defence lawyer Anthony Chambers interviewed others.

The 24-year-old is officially representing himself, after firing a team of four lawyers appointed by the Detroit Federal Defender office last year.

Mr Chambers is the "standby counsel" appointed by a federal judge.

He told the Associated Press news agency he had been authorised by Mr Abdulmutallab to deliver the opening statement.

Mr Chambers said his client was "driving the bus" on the ultimate decisions made in the courtroom.

"His self-representation certainly makes it more difficult strategically. But we're doing the best we can with what we have to work with."

Lloyd Meyer, a former terrorism prosecutor at the US justice department, told AP Mr Abdulmutallab giving his own opening statement would have been disastrous for the defence.

"He would have stood up in front of a jury and said, 'I wanted to murder my fellow passengers and here's why'," Mr Meyer said.

The former student's outbursts in the courtroom have become common.

Last week, he shouted "Anwar is alive" during jury selection, an apparent reference to Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born al-Qaeda recruiter killed in a drone strike in September.

During a pre-trial hearing, Mr Abdulmutallab made similar statements about Osama Bin Laden after his publicised death.

"The goal of the court is to get the best representation so no one down the road can claim [Mr Abdulmutallab] was railroaded or forced to assume a responsibility he could not handle," said David Steingold, a Detroit defence lawyer.

Interview allowed

Mr Abdulmutallab attempted to have several pieces of information banned from appearing at trial, including statements he made while being treated for burns at a hospital.

He argued the interview should be suppressed, as he was not read his rights before being questioned by the FBI, including the right to remain silent.

US District Judge Nancy Edmunds, who is presiding over the case, denied the request, citing public safety in the immediate hours after the attempted bombing.

Judge Edmunds will also will let jurors see a martyrdom video recorded by Mr Abdulmutallab before the attack but won't let jurors see a video clip of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden hailing him as a hero.

As the juror pool was whittled down last week, Mr Chambers was ultimately unsatisfied with the makeup of the jury.

The final jury has only two African-Americans out of 12 total.

"Obviously, I'm not pleased with the pool," Mr Chambers said after jury selection last week. "By appearance, it does not represent the community."

Mr Abdulmutallab's father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, an influential banker who is well connected in Nigerian politics, said he had approached the US embassy officials and Nigerian authorities to warn them about his son in 2009.

Source:BBC

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