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Alleged Sneaker Bomber Pleads "Not Guilty" to Federal Charges
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| Reid pleaded “not guilty” to eight charges |
BOSTON, Jan. 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The man accused of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with bombs in his shoes calmly pleaded innocent Friday to nine terrorism-related charges in federal court.
Richard C. Reid, a 28-year-old British citizen of Jamaican heritage, answered “Not guilty” to eight charges, including the attempted murder of 197 passengers and crewmembers aboard American Airlines Flight 63 on Dec. 22.
During the course of the 10-minute hearing, as U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein read the nine counts filed against him, the 28-year-old convert to Islam sat in shackles with his head stooped.
Asked how he pleaded, Reid responded, in hushed tones: "Not guilty." He said nothing else during the hearing.
The charges against Reid include: two counts of interfering with a flight crew, attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted homicide, placing explosive devices on an aircraft, attempted murder, attempted destruction of an aircraft, using a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence, and attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle -- a new anti-terrorist offense recently enacted by Congress.
For technical reasons, the defense had the judge enter the innocent plea on a ninth charge.
The 6-foot-4 Reid, who appeared in U.S. District Court in heavy shackles, looked down during much of the brief hearing. He was wearing an orange jail uniform, sporting long hair and a beard.
Reid was initially charged with interfering with a flight crew. The new terrorism charges issued Wednesday accuse him of having been trained in Afghanistan by Saudi-exile Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
An hour and a half after the aircraft took off from Paris's Roissy airport, a flight attendant smelled something like a burning match. That led her to Reid, who appeared to be trying to set fire to his shoe with a match. The alleged "sneaker bomber" was subdued by the flight crew and passengers on the Paris-to-Miami flight. The plane landed safely in Boston under U.S. military fighter escort.
"If it weren't for them, this most definitely would have been a disaster,'' Charles Prouty, special agent in charge of the Boston Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office, said after the arraignment.
Authorities said each high-top sneaker contained a plastic explosive. They said the homemade bombs could easily have ripped a hole in the plane, if Reid had successfully ignited them.
Reid's case is being prosecuted in Boston because the plane was diverted to the city's Logan International Airport. If convicted, Reid could receive five life sentences.
Among the charges is attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle, a new charge created by Congress in an anti-terrorism bill enacted after the deadly September 11 attacks. About 3,000 people were killed when hijacked planes destroyed New York's World Trade Center and heavily-damaged the Pentagon near Washington, DC.
Reid's attorney, Tamar Birckhead, asked Dein to enter an innocent plea on Reid's behalf to that charge because there was a “potential defect” in it. She questioned whether the American flight would qualify for the charge.
“To allege that a 767 airplane is a vehicle, let alone is a vehicle used in urban mass transportation, is a stretch,” Birckhead said.
U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan dismissed her argument.
"I think it's clear that Congress's intent was not to allow this kind of conduct on a train, but then to allow it on a plane,” he said.
Reid has been held without bail since his arrest Dec. 22.
The indictment said Reid "received training from al-Qaeda in Afghanistan,” but it provided no other details about Reid's alleged ties to the network. There, Reid allegedly learned to use explosives such as the pentrite he placed in his shoes.
Investigators say Reid might have succeeded if he had just used a cigarette lighter instead of matches.
Birckhead has said the indictment does not indicate that Reid worked on behalf of the al-Qaeda group or any other terrorist network. Sullivan refused to elaborate on any evidence of Reid's alleged connection to terrorism.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said in Washington Wednesday that the charges "alert us to a clear, unmistakable threat that Al-Qaeda could attack the United States again.” Ashcroft added that Reid might face additional charges.
Ashcroft has declined to say whether he thinks Reid had an accomplice, but European investigators have told CNN they believe the actual maker of the shoe bombs remains at large.
A U.S. official said Reid may be an Al-Qaeda target scout. And an Israeli official said it was possible Reid was gathering intelligence for large-scale attacks in Tel Aviv and other cities. Both spoke on condition of anonymity.
Reid converted to Islam while in prison for petty crimes. He later worshipped at the same London mosque as Zacarias Moussaoui, who has been charged with conspiracy in the deadly September 11 attacks.
In an interview with Britain's Channel 4 News on Thursday, Reid's father, Robin Reid of London, said he could not believe his son is an international terrorist.
"He'd been brainwashed,” he said. "I think I know my son well enough to know that he wouldn't have, he couldn't have, thought of doing this on his own.”
Reid, whose divorced parents both live in Britain, is being held on a suicide watch in a detention facility near Boston.
Since his arrest, random shoe-checks at airport gates have become common security procedure. Last week, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak was asked to remove his shoes for investigation prior to boarding a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Washington.
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