A defense lawyer who once represented imprisoned 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef has been tapped to represent the computer nerd accused of helping orchestrate the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Bernard Kleinman showed up in Manhattan federal court representing Abu Anas al-Libi, 49, who was snatched off a street in Libya on Oct. 5 in a raid by the US Army Delta Force. He declined comment when asked if Libyan officials were picking up his legal fees, only saying a third party was paying for it.
During a hearing before Judge Lewis Kaplan, prosecutors requested that al-Libi — who allegedly served as one of Osama bin Laden’s key henchmen — be grouped together for a joint trial with two other al Qaeda operatives also accused of allegedly participating in 1998 bombings that left at least 244 dead and thousands injured.
Kaplan didn’t rule on the request to have al-Libi tried with Adel Abdel Bary and Khaled Al Fawwaz, but appeared ready to grant it, saying “the idea of similar trials over several months doesn’t strike me as a terribly rational thing to do.”
Afterwards, Kleinman addressed his client’s battle with Hepatitis C and other health problems, which could potentially drain US taxpayers for health-care costs considering the lawyer says he needs six months to go through hundreds of thousands of documents to be ready for trial.
He claimed al-Libi is “fine” despite his illness and also shot down reports claiming the terror suspect needs a liver transplant and was on a hunger strike while abroad the USS San Antonio for interrogation in the first four days following his capture.
“His diet is fine,” Kleinman added. “He’s receiving a halal diet [at Metropolitan Correctional Center], but he could use more exercise.”
Kleinman also said al-Libi is irate with the way he was captured by the military, adding “he’s upset that he was seized by his home, blindfolded at gunpoint and not knowing why.”