'Lackawanna Six' Suspect in Yemen, U.S. Kindly Appoints a Lawyer

It's bad enough we allowed the Christmas Day wannabe bomber to lawyer up, but now we're appointing lawyers to terror suspects picked up in Yemen?

The United States has appointed a Buffalo, N.Y., lawyer to counsel Yemeni-American terror suspect Jaber Elbaneh, who's been in custody in Yemen since 2008 and faces charges in New York that he helped recruit the so-called "Lackawanna Six" to train with al-Qaida.

U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mehltretter says the 43-year-old Elbaneh asked for a lawyer during a recent visit from U.S. government officials. Yemeni officials tell The Associated Press Thursday he's been in prison there since a 2008 terror conspiracy conviction.

Now this account says he's been in custody since 2008, yet a report today seems contradict that.

Jaber A. Elbaneh, who allegedly helped recruit the Lackawanna Six and is described by the FBI as one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, is once again in custody in his home country of Yemen, The Buffalo News learned Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors and FBI agents want him returned to Buffalo to face criminal charges in the Lackawanna Six case that have been pending against him since 2002. They charge that he was part of the group of Lackawanna men who trained at an al-Qaida terrorist camp in Afghanistan.

But because Yemen has no extradition agreement with the United States, authorities said that there is no way of knowing whether Elbaneh, 43, will ever return to face the charges.

Yemeni authorities have had Elbaneh in custody several times in the past seven years, but Yemen’s government has refused requests from the U.S. government to extradite him.

“We are aware that he is in custody in Yemen and that he has asked for an attorney to represent him on the charges we filed against him,” U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter said Wednesday afternoon.

“We do want to prosecute him [in Buffalo], but as you know, there is no extradition treaty between the U.S. and Yemen.”

Mehltretter and other law enforcement officials declined to discuss how, when or why Elbaneh recently landed in the custody of Yemeni officials. A spokesman at Yemen’s embassy in Washington did not respond to telephone or e-mail messages from The News.

A Buffalo attorney, James W. Grable Jr., confirmed that he has been assigned by U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to represent Elbaneh.

Rough Justice: Most Wanted al Qaeda Walks Free on His Own Recognizance

Yemen is really doing its part to help in the war on terror.

This is what you get when you take the fight into the courtroom.

I get the sneaking suspicion he'll soon disappear.

SENIOR al-Qaeda figure Jaber al-Banna, who has a $US5 million ($5.4 million) US bounty on his head, walked free from an appeal hearing in Yemen overnight after being granted bail on his own recognisance.

Banna, who has joint Yemeni-US citizenship and was handed a 10-year jail term in absentia last year, is one of 36 convicted militants who are appealing prison sentences of between two and 15 years.

He surrendered to Yemeni authorities in December after negotiations lasting several months. There has still been no word of what deal, if any, was struck.

Banna made his first court appearance at the opening of the appeal on February 23 when he was allowed to walk free without any bail conditions at all.

At the overnight hearing, Banna urged the court to overturn his "unjust" sentence and accused the Yemeni government of colluding with the US to imprison him. He is due back in court on March 23.

Washington suspects Banna of providing material support to al-Qaeda and has offered a reward of up to $US5 million for his arrest.

He is one of a number of al-Qaeda suspects who have been the subject of arguments between Sanaa and Washington.

Yemen and the US previously clashed over Jamal al-Badawi, a suspected al-Qaeda militant jailed for 15 years, for his role in the October 2000 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole off the southern port of Aden which killed 17 US sailors.

Badawi, who also has a $US5 million US bounty on his head, was among 23 convicted al-Qaeda militants who escaped from jail in February 2006.

He surrendered to the authorities in October but neighbours said he was being allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest in his home.

More here and here.