Abu Hamza: Prosecution case to start in US court
The Egyptian-born preacher denies 11 terrorism charges including providing support to al-Qaeda and trying to set up an al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon.
He was extradited from a UK prison, having been jailed for seven years for inciting murder and race hate.
It was specified that he must be tried in a civilian court in the US.
This stipulation was made by British and European court rulings after a legal battle which began when the US requested Abu Hamza's extradition in 2004.
Abu Hamza sat in court on Monday as District Judge Katherine Forrest explained the 11 charges against him to potential jurors.
Kidnap charges
In February, Abu Hamza wrote to the judge saying he planned to testify in his defence and address the 9/11 attacks - even though his lawyers have advised against it.
The charges he faces include conspiring in a 1998 kidnapping of tourists in Yemen that resulted in the deaths of three Britons and an Australian.
As part of their case, prosecutors plan to play jurors a series of recordings of Abu Hamza praising Osama Bin Laden and castigating Jews, Christians and homosexuals.
His lawyers have argued the recordings are irrelevant to the charges against him.
Abu Hamza, who has no hands and one eye, rose to notoriety in the UK for preaching violent messages at Finsbury Park mosque in London after 9/11.
In fighting against the extradition, his lawyers claimed some of the evidence that could be used against him in the US was obtained using torture.
They also claimed he could face inhumane treatment, but courts eventually found that his human rights would not be violated.
Source:BBC
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