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Benghazi suspect pleads not guilty to new murder charges | Benghazi suspect pleads not guilty to new murder charges |
(about 4 hours later) | |
The man charged with leading the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four U.S. officials including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday in federal court in Washington. | |
Ahmed Abu Khattala, 43, was ordered to be held without bond by U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper. | |
A federal grand jury filed 18 charges last Tuesday against the suspected ringleader of the deadly assault on a diplomatic mission and a CIA annex Sept. 11-12, 2012, counts that included murder and other crimes eligible for the death penalty. | |
Abu Khattala previously pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge under which he had been held since his capture June 15 in Benghazi during a raid by U.S. Special Operations forces. | |
The new charges include murder of an internationally protected person, murder of an officer and employee of the United States, killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility, destroying a U.S. facility, and brandishing a handgun. | |
The new indictment does not contribute a broader understanding of how the attacks unfolded. | |
Last week’s indictment described Abu Khattala as the commander of the Ubaydah Bin Jarrah, a militia in Benghazi that wanted to establish Islamic law in Libya. The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9. | |
Mary Manning Petras and Michelle Peterson, two lawyers in the Federal Public Defender’s Office who are representing Abu Khattala, released a statement Monday saying in part that the office could say little given that it is waiting for the government to turn over additional material and that “the evidence produced to date is limited and all under a protective order.” | |
The statement also said “little weight should be given to press statements made by politicians, and everyone should wait to see if there is any actual evidence of his involvement before rushing to judgment. It would not be the first time the government got it wrong on Benghazi.” | The statement also said “little weight should be given to press statements made by politicians, and everyone should wait to see if there is any actual evidence of his involvement before rushing to judgment. It would not be the first time the government got it wrong on Benghazi.” |
Peter Hermann contributed to this report. | Peter Hermann contributed to this report. |