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Detroit, January 09, 2010 – A "not guilty" plea has been entered on
behalf of the Nigerian man accused of attempting to detonate a bomb on a
Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day.
A Detroit judge took the action after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab declined
to enter a plea during his first court appearance.
Mr Abdulmutallab, 23, is charged with the attempted murder of 290 people
and five other counts.
The incident has led to dozens of new security measures being
introduced.
Mr Abdulmutallab, wearing leg shackles, walked slowly into the court
room.
He confirmed his name and its spelling, as well as his age in a soft
voice, prompting the judge to ask him to speak up.
Asked if he had had time to read the indictment, he answered "yes". He
also confirmed he understood the charges.
Asked if he had taken any drugs in the previous 24 hours, he said he had
taken some pain killers.
Mr Abdulmutallab was treated for burns after his arrest at Detroit
airport after he allegedly tried to detonate a device concealed in his
underwear on Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit.
The plane landed safely after passengers and crew overpowered him.
He faces life imprisonment if found guilty.
Political fallout
The attempted attack prompted widespread criticism of US intelligence
services for failing to prevent the plot.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama announced new terrorist watch list
guidelines and other security upgrades.
While criticizing "systemic" failings, he said: "The buck stops with
me."
The US had failed to "connect and understand" intelligence received
prior to the failed attack on the airliner, he added, delivering a
televised statement from the White House on Thursday.
He announced that he was ordering an immediate strengthening of the
terrorist watch list. Information on security risks would be distributed
more widely and analysis of that information would be improved.
Also among more than a dozen new measures were improved screening
technology at US airports, the recruitment of hundreds more air marshals
and a review of the issuing of US visas.
Announcing the conclusions of an urgent White House review, Mr Obama
said the US government had "had the information scattered throughout the
system to potentially uncover this plot and disrupt the attack".
Mr Abdulmutallab's name was on a US database of about 550,000 suspected
terrorists but not on a list that would have subjected him to additional
security screening or kept him from boarding the flight from Amsterdam
to Detroit.
THE CHARGES
Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction
Attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US
Willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft
Willfully placing a destructive device in or near an aircraft which was
likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft
Two counts of possession of a firearm, ie the bomb, in furtherance of
violent crime
Source: BBC
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