Jury selection began today in the case against four Osama bin Laden
associates charged with conspiring with the Saudi exile to bomb two US embassies in East Africa killing more than 200 people.
The trial opened in a Manhattan federal courtroom amid high security and restricted news coverage of jury selection.
About 1,500 potential jurors previously filled out questionnaires about their ability to serve on the case, which is expected to last about nine months and involves two defendants who could face the death penalty.
It was one of the largest number of potential jurors ever to be screened in a federal case ahead of actual jury selection. But it was unclear how long the selection process would take or how many jurors would be questioned by the judge.
Reporters were allowed to remain in the courtroom during brief introductory remarks by US District Judge Leonard Sand and then were asked to leave.
Yesterday Judge Sand decided to bar the press and public from the selection process, citing concerns their presence might cause jurors to be less candid about their death penalty views.
The trial stems from charges against a total of 22 defendants, including bin Laden, indicted for a conspiracy that included plans to kill American nationals abroad and for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
Reuters