Alleged Al Qaeda Operative, On Trial In Brooklyn, Cross-Examines Convicted Terrorist
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A man accused of being an al Qaeda operative was allowed to cross-examine a convicted terrorist in court Wednesday.
Abid Naseer questioned Najibulla Zazi for about an hour. Naseer is acting as his own attorney at his trial in federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors say both men were part of an al Qaeda conspiracy in 2009 to stage attacks in Manchester, England, New York and Denmark. Zazi pleaded guilty in 2010 and agreed to cooperate as a government witness.
A former Queens resident, Zazi described to the jury his training and the use of common beauty supplies to make bombs and small Christmas lights to make a detonator, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
In his cross-examination, Naseer sought to distance himself from Zazi by getting Zazi to acknowledge the two had never met before.
Zazi also testified that he never heard his al Qaeda handlers mention Naseer's name.
Naseer was extradited from Britain in 2013. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.
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