MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - The Libyan government is paying to defend Abu Anas Libi, an al-Qaeda member suspected of terrorism, The Washington Post reported.
According to the information disclosed by a federal judge in New York on Monday, Libyan authorities are paying to defend Libi who was allegedly among those behind the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, causing the death of 12 US citizens and 220 Kenyans.
Abu Anas Libi, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed Ruqai, was captured by US forces in October 2013 in Tripoli and brought to the United States to face charges.
During a closed hearing held last week, his attorney Bernard Kleinman told US District Judge Lewis A. Caplan that a foreign government is paying him, revealing the identities of the Libyan authorities involved.
Kleinman asked the court not to disclose this information, but the prosecution objected and Caplan decided otherwise.
The suspect has pleaded not guilty to the bombings. His trial is scheduled for November. His lawyer has revealed that Libi is terminally ill.
Libi is believed to be a member of al-Qaeda since at least 1994 and once was Osama bin Laden’s personal trustee.
