Sulaiman Abu Ghaith: Osama bin Laden’s son-in-low jailed for life

Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was an al-Qaeda spokesman after 9/11, has been sentenced to life in prison for terrorism-related charges at a trial in New York.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, is the highest-ranking al-Qaeda figure to face trial on US soil since 9/11 attacks.

The Kuwaiti clergyman was captured in Jordan last year and brought to the US.

In March, a jury found Sulaiman Abu Ghaith guilty of conspiracy to kill Americans and aiding al-Qaeda.

Addressing him directly, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said it was his “assessment that you are committed to doing everything you can to carry out al Qaeda’s agenda to kill Americans”.

Videos showing Sulaiman Abu Ghaith threatening America with no end to the “storm of airplanes” were shown to jurors.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith argued his role was a purely religious one, aimed at encouraging all Muslims to rise up against their oppressors.

He testified that Osama bin Laden had asked him to be al-Qaeda’s spokesman on the night of the 9/11 attacks.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who is one of the highest-ranking al-Qaeda linked figures to face a civilian jury on terrorism-related charges, is married to Osama bin Laden’s eldest daughter Fatima.

Osama bin Laden, a founder of al-Qaeda, was killed by US forces in May 2011 at his hideout in Pakistan.