Terror Suspect Acts As His Own Attorney

Ignoring a federal judge’s warning, an alleged terrorist took over as his own lawyer at his trial Thursday and denied involvement in a plot to bomb 12 U.S. airliners in a two-day span.

Ramzi Yousef calmly read a 10-minute handwritten opening statement, telling the federal jury that he was in custody in Pakistan when prosecutors say he was plotting the bombing spree over the Far East in January 1995.

Yousef, who is also awaiting trial on charges he masterminded the World Trade Center bombing, said foreign governments provided the United States with phony evidence in the airliner case.

Prosecutors say Yousef was not arrested until Feb. 6, 1995 in Pakistan and they can use records of telephone calls, plane trips, fingerprints and testimony by those who saw him to prove it.