NEW YORK -- It took less than 13 months for Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, to be arrested, put on trial and convicted of terrorism charges for being the fiery mouthpiece of al-Qaida in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

It has been more than 13 years since the alleged mastermind of those attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, was captured and sent to the U.S.-run military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he remains today with no trial in sight.


In this courtroom sketch, from left, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith stands next to his attorney, Stanley Cohen, Wednesday as courtroom deputy Andrew Mohan reads the
In this courtroom sketch, from left, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith stands next to his attorney, Stanley Cohen, Wednesday as courtroom deputy Andrew Mohan reads the verdict and Judge Lewis Kaplan, right, listens. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

"It is a triumph for federal courts and for our justice system," said Sally Regenhard, whose son Christian, a firefighter, was killed responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center. Regenhard was one of a handful of Sept. 11 family members who attended parts of the trial, which took place just blocks from where the towers once stood.


She got that, and maybe more.




U.S. officials said the verdict also disproved claims by those who support holding detainees at Guantanamo that American courts are not up to providing the security to handle international terrorism suspects. Abu Ghaith was the highest-ranking al-Qaida leader to stand trial in the United States since the 2001 attacks, according to prosecutors.

"This successful prosecution again shows that the criminal justice system is not just a valid way to prosecute al-Qaida terrorists, but a better and more reliable way," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I look forward to seeing additional prosecutions of terrorists in federal criminal courts, including some of the terrorist detainees at Guantanamo. This is long overdue."


Potential jurors were quizzed about their knowledge of al-Qaida and their personal connection with Sept. 11. Those who knew victims or had friends who knew victims were excused from serving. In the end, nine women and three men heard prosecutors describe Abu Ghaith as al-Qaida's chief spokesman and bin Laden's right-hand man, who was summoned to bin Laden's mountain hide-out the night of Sept. 11, 2001, and told to deliver a speech urging violence against America.
