Umar Mutallab Pleads Not Guilty In Regular Criminal Court

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Not Guilty Plea For Nigerian Bomb Suspect



A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of a 23-year-old Nigerian man on Friday on charges he tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arraigned on six charges during a brief federal court appearance. The most severe carries a punishment of up to life in prison — the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Abdulmutallab walked into the courtroom wearing a white T-shirt, khaki pants and tennis shoes.

When the judge asked him if he understood the charges against him, the soft-spoken suspect answered "yes" in English.

After that, his lawyer said Abdulmutallab would stand mute to the charges, which allows the court to enter a not guilty plea in his defense.

The government said Abdulmutallab tried to blow up an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight by igniting an explosive under his clothes.

President Barack Obama in remarks on Thursday took ultimate responsibility for security failures that led to the botched bombing and ordered reforms aimed at thwarting future attacks.

Linked to a Yemen-based branch of al-Qaida, Abdulmutallab has been held in a federal prison in Milan, Mich.






Brief Hearing

The initial hearing took three minutes, setting the stage for a trial that legal experts said is weighted heavily in the government's favor given the evidence, including Adbulmutallab's injuries.

"It happened in an enclosed environment, in the air, with many witnesses," said Larry Dubin, a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy. "Usually prosecutors are not as fortunate having those facts when bringing a case."

Officials closed off the snow-covered street approaching the federal building and limited the number of observers in court to fewer than 80 witnesses and reporters.

A Nigerian-American group and a coalition of Muslim Americans announced plans to rally nearby in support of the U.S. government's position.

"Everybody here is concerned about these unfortunate acts and these unfortunate events because they send the wrong message," said Nasser Muhsin, a member of the American Muslim Society in Dearborn, Michigan.

"They put the wrong definition of Islam in people's minds, and that's what we are concerned about," said Muhsin.



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