Legal Strategies Hinted in Terror Case
As courts in Trinidad and Brooklyn began initial proceedings against four men accused of plotting to blow up fuel tanks at Kennedy International Airport, hints of their legal strategies emerged.
Lawyers for three suspects in Trinidad said they would appeal a judge’s order to extradite them to the United States, the New York Times reports. One of the suspects wore a T-shirt to a hearing on Monday that read “No Extradition by Entrapment” and told an Associated Press reporter that the case is “a big setup by the drug dealers.”
The Times said the reference was apparently to the informant in the case, a convicted drug dealer who has “provided extremely credible information,” according to the government.
In Brooklyn last week, the lawyer for suspect Russell Defreitas asked for an examination of his client’s “intellectual limitations.” An anonymous Justice official has called Defreitas “a bit washed up,” but said it was alarming that he was able to solicit help from more experienced people.
The government has filed “only the most basic documents” in court and may take further steps to seal evidence, the Times says. A hearing on classified aspects of the case has been scheduled for Aug. 31.
