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Embassy bombings jury focusing on last 18 counts
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Jurors completed a 10th day of deliberations Wednesday in the trial of four men accused of participating in a worldwide conspiracy to kill Americans and destroy U.S. property, including the coordinated 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The jury is considering a 302-count indictment alleging the conspiracy, the bombings, the murders of the 224 people killed, and perjury to cover up the conspiracy. The jury adjourned abruptly shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday because one juror had a toothache. Notes jurors have sent to the judge during their deliberations have indicated they have been going through the counts in numerical order. A note sent to the court Wednesday indicated they were focusing on the final 18 counts of the indictment.
Those counts accuse one of the defendants, Wadih el Hage, of lying about maintaining contacts with Saudi exile Osama bin Laden and his associates once el Hage had relocated to Kenya in 1994. Bin Laden, named as a fugitive in the case, is accused of sparking a conspiracy to kill Americans and destroy U.S. property that culminated in the embassy bombings. Among the seven items the jury asked to see Wednesday were el Hage's passport, records of an April 1997 phone call he made to bin Laden's satellite phone in Afghanistan, and a phony press identification card investigators found in el Hage's office papers in Kenya. Wednesday's note was the 17th the jury has sent to the judge in the 10 days of deliberations. El Hage, 40, is a naturalized American originally from Lebanon, also is charged with conspiracy for allegedly facilitating the East African terrorist cell. The other defendants are: Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, 24, a Saudi charged with executing the Kenya bombing. Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, 36, a Jordanian charged with planning the Kenya bombing. Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 27, a Tanzanian charged with executing the Tanzania bombing. All four are charged with participating in the conspiracy allegedly led by bin Laden. Nearly simultaneous explosions on August 7, 1998, killed 11 in Tanzania and 213, including 12 Americans, in Kenya -- and injured thousands. |
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