Handless hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri is seeing red – every time he looks at his stumps.
Lawyers for the accused terror teacher asked a Manhattan federal judge on Monday to consider relocating al-Masri as he awaits trial for terror crimes from Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan to the more cozy Federal Medical Center in Devins, Mass., saying his taxpayer-funded prosthetics are creating an irritating skin condition that MCC can’t handle.
“His arms are infected, and this is an issue that needs to be resolved at a medical center,” his lawyer Lindsay Lewis said.
The terror suspect’s arms were noticeably red and irritated during his court appearance before Judge Katherine Forrest.
His legal team said they’d first formally request the switch through the Bureau of Prisons, and if that doesn’t fly, formally ask Forrest though legal briefs.
Lewis afterwards told reporters the prosthetics’ problem has been “ongoing for months” and has “made it difficult” getting her client ready for trial.
“It’s a result of the prosthetics, the rubbing and that he doesn’t have the accommodations he needs [at MCC],” she said.
Forrest opted to push back the trial two weeks to April 14 on an unrelated scheduling issue. He faces life in prison on charges of setting up a terrorist training camp in Oregon and other terror-related crimes.
His infamous metal hooks were barred by prison officials as safety hazards. A replacement pair purchased by prison officials has been repeatedly sent back for fitting adjustments.