Osama Bin Laden's son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was an al-Qaeda spokesman after 9/11, has been convicted of terrorism-related charges at a trial in a federal court in New York.
Security guards outside the federal court building in New York. Photo: Getty Images / AFP
He could face life in prison when he is sentenced in September for conspiracy to kill Americans and aiding al-Qaeda.
The Kuwaiti clergyman was captured in Jordan last year and brought to the United States.
He is the highest-ranking al-Qaeda figure to face trial on US soil since the attacks.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on three charges: conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiring to provide support to al-Qaeda, and providing support to al-Qaeda. The verdict came after about five hours of deliberation.
Videos showing Abu Ghaith threatening America with no end to the "storm of airplanes'' were shown to jurors, but he argued his role was a purely religious one, aimed at encouraging all Muslims to rise up against their oppressors.
In a surprise move, the accused took the witness stand in his own defence and testified that Bin Laden asked him to be al-Qaeda's spokesman on the night of the 9/11 attacks.
Bin Laden was killed by US forces in May 2011 in Pakistan.
