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Accused Somali Terrorist Pleads Not Guilty In Manhattan Court
Updated 07/05/2011 10:10 PM
By: NY1 News

A Somali national who was secretly captured by the U.S. military in April pleaded not guilty to nine terror-related charges before a Manhattan district court judge Tuesday, and he was remanded to federal custody.

Officials say Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was captured in April and has been interrogated on a U.S. warship for more than two months. He was then read his Miranda rights, and he reportedly waived them.

Warsame is charged with supporting al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Somalian-based terrorist group al-Shabaab and conspiring to teach and demonstrate making explosives between 2009 and last spring.

He also has a weapons possession charge dating back to 2007.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement, "Capturing and bringing Warsame to justice is a body blow to any al-Qaida affiliate that aspires to fill the vacuum of a diminished al-Qaida central. I want to congratulate our military and the NYPD detectives and FBI agents whose collaborative work on the Joint Terrorism Task Force helps to protect New York and the rest of the nation from terrorism on a daily basis."

Warsame faces up to life in prison.

President Barack Obama is committed to use civilian courts to try terrorists.




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