The trial of a Saudi businessman accused in the 1998 Al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in East Africa got underway in New York on Tuesday with jury selection. Khalid al-Fawwaz, who was allegedly head of al-Qaeda's London office until his arrest in 1999, is accused on four counts of conspiracy to kill Americans and conspiracy to destroy US property. The attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which were claimed by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, killed 224 people and wounded around 5,000. Khalid al-Fawwaz was, among other things, head of al-Qaeda's London office until he was arrested in Britain in 1999. He has already spent 16 years in custody . The 52-year-old appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday to face terrorism charges . Arrested in Britain in 1999, Fawwaz has already spent 16 years in custody and pleads not guilty. On Tuesday, he took a seat in the Manhattan court room, just a short walk from the site of the former Twin Towers destroyed by Al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks. He wore a crisp white tunic, neatly pressed and of the type traditionally favored by men in Saudi Arabia, with a crocheted white prayer cap on his head. He had dark shadows under his eyes, his face was pale and partially obscured by a long, pointy grey beard. He folded his stocky frame into a court chair, put black-rimmed spectacles on his nose to consult documents and exchanged pleasantries with his lawyers. US prosecutors claim that Fawwaz was head of al-Qaeda's London office - put in charge personally by bin Laden, who was killed by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan in May 2011. Fawwaz is accused of setting up the London office to publicize bin Laden's statements and serve as a conduit for messages between different al-Qaeda cells . This August 1998 photo shows Kenyan residents looking at the US embassy (left) days after the bomb blast . From around 1993 - five years before the attacks - he was named as an al-Qaeda associate who allegedly began to establish businesses and residence in Kenya. From 1995 to 1998, he allegedly provided bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members with communications, including a satellite phone, and disseminated bin Laden's declaration of jihad in England. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has overseen a string of terror trials ending in guilty convictions, opened the first stage of jury selection on Tuesday. A pool of around 200 prospective jurors, who have already completed questionnaires, will be whittled down to 12, with six alternates, who will hear the case. The process is expected to continue until at least Thursday before opening arguments can begin. The Fawwaz trial is estimated to last five weeks, considerably shorter than previously expected. One of his co-defendants, Libya's Abu Anas al-Libi, died in a New York hospital earlier this month after suffering from advanced hepatitis C and cancer. A second Egyptian, Adel Abdel Bary, pleaded guilty last year and is set to be sentenced by Kaplan on February 6. Fawwaz was arrested in Britain in 1999 and fought a nearly 12-year battle against extradition before being sent to the United States to stand trial.
Khalid al-Fawwaz worked as Osama bin Laden's spokesman and helped coordinate and carry out the attacks in Kenya and Tanzania .
The attacked killed 224 people, wounded 5,000 and put bin Laden on the map as a dangerous terrorist leader .
The trial takes place in US federal court in Manhattan .
200 potential jurors have already been summoned .
The trial of a Saudi businessman accused in the 1998 Al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in East Africa got underway in New York on Tuesday with jury selection. Khalid al-Fawwaz, who was allegedly head of al-Qaeda's London office until his arrest in 1999, is accused on four counts of conspiracy to kill Americans and conspiracy to destroy US property. The attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which were claimed by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, killed 224 people and wounded around 5,000. Khalid al-Fawwaz was, among other things, head of al-Qaeda's London office until he was arrested in Britain in 1999. He has already spent 16 years in custody . The 52-year-old appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday to face terrorism charges . Arrested in Britain in 1999, Fawwaz has already spent 16 years in custody and pleads not guilty. On Tuesday, he took a seat in the Manhattan court room, just a short walk from the site of the former Twin Towers destroyed by Al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks. He wore a crisp white tunic, neatly pressed and of the type traditionally favored by men in Saudi Arabia, with a crocheted white prayer cap on his head. He had dark shadows under his eyes, his face was pale and partially obscured by a long, pointy grey beard. He folded his stocky frame into a court chair, put black-rimmed spectacles on his nose to consult documents and exchanged pleasantries with his lawyers. US prosecutors claim that Fawwaz was head of al-Qaeda's London office - put in charge personally by bin Laden, who was killed by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan in May 2011. Fawwaz is accused of setting up the London office to publicize bin Laden's statements and serve as a conduit for messages between different al-Qaeda cells . This August 1998 photo shows Kenyan residents looking at the US embassy (left) days after the bomb blast . From around 1993 - five years before the attacks - he was named as an al-Qaeda associate who allegedly began to establish businesses and residence in Kenya. From 1995 to 1998, he allegedly provided bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members with communications, including a satellite phone, and disseminated bin Laden's declaration of jihad in England. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has overseen a string of terror trials ending in guilty convictions, opened the first stage of jury selection on Tuesday. A pool of around 200 prospective jurors, who have already completed questionnaires, will be whittled down to 12, with six alternates, who will hear the case. The process is expected to continue until at least Thursday before opening arguments can begin. The Fawwaz trial is estimated to last five weeks, considerably shorter than previously expected. One of his co-defendants, Libya's Abu Anas al-Libi, died in a New York hospital earlier this month after suffering from advanced hepatitis C and cancer. A second Egyptian, Adel Abdel Bary, pleaded guilty last year and is set to be sentenced by Kaplan on February 6. Fawwaz was arrested in Britain in 1999 and fought a nearly 12-year battle against extradition before being sent to the United States to stand trial.
The trial of a Saudi businessman accused in the jury selection. Khalid al-Fawwaz, who was destroy US property. The attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which were claimed by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, killed 224 people and wounded around 5,000. federal court on Tuesday to face terrorism office - put in charge personally by bin Laden, prospective jurors, who have already completed