Courtroom sketch of Muhanad Mahmoud al-Farekh
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 7, 2016
U.S. prosecutors said they may add charges carrying the death penalty in a case against an American who they say supported Al-Qaeda and aided a suicide bombing in Afghanistan.
The announcement came on January 7 as Muhanad Mahmoud al-Farekh, 30, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to charges that he played a role in helping prepare explosive devices used in the 2009 attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad said prosecutors were considering bringing charges over the death of Afghan nationals in the attack, based on evidence authorities had been gathering over the last few months.
Those charges could bring the death penalty. Ahmad said prosecutors had also obtained a search warrant for Farekh’s DNA to see if it matches a sample recovered from the packing tape on one of the bombs.
“We expect in a month or two we’ll know what we can prove,” she said.