Abuja Time
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
A Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to bomb a Detroit-bound American aircraft in December 25, 2009, will appear in court today for pre-trial conference.
Abdulmutallab, who sacked his lawyers and opted to represent himself in court, later sought the court's consent to skip today's hearing and requested that he should be represented by Anthony Chambers, a court-appointed counsel. The application was opposed by the prosecutors.
US District Court Judge, Nancy Edmunds, while rejecting Abdulmutallab's application last Thursday, said: “As long as defendant chooses to represent himself in this matter, he must appear at court for all proceedings.
“Because he has declined formal counsel, defendant must be present in court to represent and speak for himself."
Edmunds, in his ruling, also said Abdulmutallab needed to be in court to "consent to Mr. Chambers speaking for him, and he must have the opportunity to disagree with Mr. Chambers regarding his case”.
Before his request to skip today's court session, Chambers, who was appointed as a stand-in counsel to the accused without his consent, had requested files held by Abdulmutallab's former lawyers, arguing that those files contained information from experts who don't believe he was capable of destroying Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
The 24-year-old Nigerian is facing a string of criminal charges, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people. Terrorism charge was slammed on him last month in a superseding indictment issued by a grand jury.
Currently being held in a federal prison in Milan, the accused faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment on conviction.
A Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to bomb a Detroit-bound American aircraft in December 25, 2009, will appear in court today for pre-trial conference.
Abdulmutallab, who sacked his lawyers and opted to represent himself in court, later sought the court's consent to skip today's hearing and requested that he should be represented by Anthony Chambers, a court-appointed counsel. The application was opposed by the prosecutors.
US District Court Judge, Nancy Edmunds, while rejecting Abdulmutallab's application last Thursday, said: “As long as defendant chooses to represent himself in this matter, he must appear at court for all proceedings.
“Because he has declined formal counsel, defendant must be present in court to represent and speak for himself."
Edmunds, in his ruling, also said Abdulmutallab needed to be in court to "consent to Mr. Chambers speaking for him, and he must have the opportunity to disagree with Mr. Chambers regarding his case”.
Before his request to skip today's court session, Chambers, who was appointed as a stand-in counsel to the accused without his consent, had requested files held by Abdulmutallab's former lawyers, arguing that those files contained information from experts who don't believe he was capable of destroying Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
The 24-year-old Nigerian is facing a string of criminal charges, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people. Terrorism charge was slammed on him last month in a superseding indictment issued by a grand jury.
Currently being held in a federal prison in Milan, the accused faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment on conviction.
No comments:
Post a Comment