Osama bin Laden’s tough-talking son-in-law had little to say yesterday when he was hauled into a Manhattan courtroom for urging Muslims to wage war on “the Jews, the Christians and the Americans” the morning after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
But a prosecutor said al Qaeda spokesman Suleiman Abu Ghaith flapped his gums at length after being handed over to the FBI last week, making an “extensive post-arrest statement” that has been summarized in a 22-page report.
Manhattan federal prosecutor John Cronan didn’t detail what Abu Ghaith said, but sources told The Post that he didn’t provide any new information about the current state of al Qaeda or its ongoing operations.
One source said the bearded, balding terror mouthpiece essentially confirmed what the feds already knew about his connection to bin Laden and the late evil-doer’s network, while another source described his statement as “just the basics.”
If he had revealed “a whole cache of stuff,” Abu Ghaith would still be undergoing questioning and his indictment for allegedly conspiring to murder Americans would have remained sealed, one source said.
The indictment — revealed after Congressional lawmakers learned about it Thursday — alleges that Abu Ghaith “urged individuals at a guest house in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to swear an oath of allegiance” to bin Laden in May 2001.
It also says he agreed to assist bin Laden in advance of Sept. 11, and gave a speech afterward warning that “the storms shall not stop, especially the Airplanes Storm,” and advising Muslims, children and enemies of America “not to board any aircraft and not to live in high rises.”
Yesterday, listening though earphones to an Arabic-language interpreter, he told Judge Lewis Kaplan that he wanted to be addressed as “Mr. Suleiman,” and gave a series of one-word answers to routine questions during his arraignment.
He said “yes” when asked if he understood his rights and “no” when asked if he could afford to hire lawyers on his own.
Public defender Philip Weinstein — who said he had already met with Abu Ghaith several times — entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf and didn’t oppose a prosecution request to have him held without bail.
Cronan said Abu Ghaith’s trial would likely last about three weeks, and Kaplan said he would set a date for it at the defendant’s next court appearance on April 8.