Terror suspect’s capture under scrutiny in court
WASHINGTON — The interrogation of a Libyan militia leader accused of leading the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed a U.S. ambassador will take center stage at a weeklong federal court proceeding in Washington that could reveal new details about his capture and arrest by American authorities.
Beginning Wednesday and over seven days, U.S. prosecutors and defense attorneys have told a federal judge they will lay out a detailed timeline of the treatment of Ahmed Abu Khattala, who was interrogated during 13 days aboard a U.S. Navy vessel without a lawyer present.
Abu Khattala, 46, was questioned in a two-step process after being seized in 2014 by U.S. Special Operations forces at a villa south of Benghazi and transported by sea to the United States.
Prosecutors said Abu Khattala waived in writing his right not to answer questions before making statements that led to his indictment on 18 counts in the September 2012 attacks, including charges of murdering U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, killing a person in an attack on a U.S. facility and providing material support to terrorists. He has pleaded not guilty.
Abu Khattala’s lawyers allege the U.S. policy of abducting him and then exposing him to two separate sets of questioners — first an intelligence-gathering unit not subject to constitutional safeguards and, later, an FBI unit that read him his Miranda rights before collecting evidence for criminal prosecution — was deliberately engineered to prevent his access to a lawyer and left him unable to understand he was signing away his legal protections.
The defense says none of Abu Khattala’s statements made over eight days of questioning by FBI agents should be allowed into evidence. He earlier was questioned over more than three days by a group of military, intelligence and law enforcement officials.
Abu Khattala is not expected to attend the weeklong hearing at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said it would not comment on the location of defendants in custody.
The hearing will provide a rare glimpse into the U.S. criminal justice system’s recent handling of terrorism suspects at sea, the secrecy involved, and its legal limits.