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Manhattan subway bomber was not part of Islamic State, lawyer says
Source: Reuters
U.S. OCTOBER 30, 2018 / 2:34 PM / UPDATED 18 HOURS AGO
Manhattan subway bomber was not part of Islamic State, lawyer says
Brendan Pierson
3 MIN READ
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man accused of detonating a bomb in a New York City subway passageway on behalf of Islamic State last December was a troubled individual who committed a serious crime but not a terrorist, his lawyer told jurors in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Tuesday.
In her opening statement on the first day of Akayed Ullah’s trial, Julia Gatto readily told jurors that they should find her client guilty of setting off the bomb, which did not kill anyone. However, she said they should acquit him of the charge that he supported Islamic State, which is designated a terrorist organization by U.S. authorities.
“This case is not about a foreign terrorist organization planting an operative in our midst,” Gatto said. “What this case is about is a deeply troubled, isolated young man who wanted to take his own life.”
Ullah, a 28-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, was arrested last December after detonating a homemade bomb in a pedestrian tunnel connecting two subway lines and a bus terminal in midtown Manhattan. He has been charged with six criminal counts, which include using a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to Islamic State.
-snip-
Manhattan subway bomber was not part of Islamic State, lawyer says
Brendan Pierson
3 MIN READ
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man accused of detonating a bomb in a New York City subway passageway on behalf of Islamic State last December was a troubled individual who committed a serious crime but not a terrorist, his lawyer told jurors in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Tuesday.
In her opening statement on the first day of Akayed Ullah’s trial, Julia Gatto readily told jurors that they should find her client guilty of setting off the bomb, which did not kill anyone. However, she said they should acquit him of the charge that he supported Islamic State, which is designated a terrorist organization by U.S. authorities.
“This case is not about a foreign terrorist organization planting an operative in our midst,” Gatto said. “What this case is about is a deeply troubled, isolated young man who wanted to take his own life.”
Ullah, a 28-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, was arrested last December after detonating a homemade bomb in a pedestrian tunnel connecting two subway lines and a bus terminal in midtown Manhattan. He has been charged with six criminal counts, which include using a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to Islamic State.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-islamicstate-ullah/manhattan-subway-bomber-was-not-part-of-islamic-state-lawyer-says-idUSKCN1N42HP