Abdulmutallab to stand trial in October for US plane bomb attempt

“A US judge rules that the ‘underwear bomber’ is competent enough to stand trial and fixes a date.”

A US federal judge yesterday ruled that a Nigerian student accused of trying to blowup a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day 2009 is competent to stand trial. 

US District Judge Nancy Edmunds made the decision after asking Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, a series of questions to find out if he understood the charges against him and that they could lead to a sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The trial date is set for Oct. 4.

“I’ve not had any reason to question his competence,” Edmunds said after the questioning.

She rejected a request by the defendant’s standby counsel, Anthony Chambers, to conduct a competency hearing. Chambers made the request against his client’s wishes. It was unclear from the hearing why Chambers made the request and why his client wouldn’t agree to it.

Abdulmutallab said, “I believe I’m competent to proceed by myself.”

Chambers had asked Edmunds in a seal motion earlier this month to hold a competency hearing but didn’t say why.

Edmunds spent much of the 50-minute hearing going over jury questions and procedures that are to be followed during the upcoming trial.

Source: DailyTimes

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