NY jury selection starts for bin Laden son-in-law

NEW YORK — Amid unusually tight security, Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law goes to trial Monday on charges he conspired to kill Americans in his role as al-Qaida’s mouthpiece after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Spectators at the trial of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith — the highestranking al-Qaida figure to face trial on U.S. soil since the attacks — will pass through a metal detector before entering a Manhattan courtroom where prosecutors will try to prove to an anonymous jury that the one-time terror network spokesman tried to rally others to kill Americans.

Prosecutors say they plan to show jurors during their opening statement a picture of Abu Ghaith seated with bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders on the day after Sept. 11, 2001, as they make statements about the attacks. They say Abu Ghaith described the circumstances of the filming in his post-arrest statement.

Also during the trial, prosecutors will show jurors post-9/11 videos in which the charismatic bearded man promises more attacks on the United States as devastating as those that demolished the World Trade Center.