‘Underwear bomber’ judge won’t block genital photo or the word ‘bomb’
The FBI obtained pictures from law enforcement sources of the underwear bomb Abdulmutallab allegedly used to try to blow up the Detroit bound flight on Christmas.
October 11, 2011
The judge in the federal trial of alleged “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab refused Tuesday to prevent the prosecution from calling the device he allegedly carried a “bomb.”
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds also refused to exclude a photo of AbdulMutallab’s burned genitals from the evidence.
Before the prosecution began its opening statement, defense standby counsel Anthony Chambers asked that the prosecutors not be allowed to use the words “explosive device” or “bomb” during the trial. It’s up to the jury to decide whether the device AbdulMutallab was carrying was a bomb, Chambers argued.
“I’m going to deny that motion,” responded Edmunds. “It makes no sense whatsoever.”
As for the photo, the judge said it did not seem “unusually prejudicial.”
AbdulMutallab, accused of trying to detonate an explosive device in his underwear aboard a Christmas 2009 flight to Detroit, has said he will represent himself.
The prosecution delivered a 90-minute opening statement at the opening of the trial Tuesday. The defense said it would reserve the right to give an opening statement at a later point in the trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The jury is comprised of three white men and nine women — six white, two African-American and one Southeast Asian.
AbdulMutallab has been indicted on charges that include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism and possession of a firearm or destructive device in furtherance of an act of violence.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was a passenger on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route from the Netherlands to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.
According to an indictment, AbdulMutallab went to the lavatory shortly before the plane was to land. When he returned to his seat, he said his stomach was upset and pulled a blanket over himself.
Prosecutors allege he then tried to ignite an explosive that was hidden in his underwear.
Passengers and flight crew members subdued him. U.S. officials say the terror group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the alleged bombing attempt.
CNN’s Laura Dolan contributed to this report.
