Jail Sees Terror Suspect's Prosthetic Arms as Weapons
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa's lawyer complains that giving up the arms each night leaves his client helpless for hours
Saturday, Oct 13, 2012 | Updated 2:08 PM EDT
AP Images
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, also known as Abu Hamza al-Masri
An Islamic Egyptian preacher brought to New York from England to face terrorism charges is forced to turn in his prosthetic arms every night in jail because officials believe the metal hook on one limb could be used as a weapon.
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa's lawyer complains that giving up the arms leaves his client helpless for hours.
Mustafa is expected to be outfitted with a new prosthetic in the shape of a hand at taxpayers' expense of more than $15,000.
Mustafa, widely known by the name Abu Hamza al-Masri, faces charges of conspiring with Seattle men to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon. He's also accused of helping abduct 16 hostages, two of them American tourists, in Yemen in 1998. He has pleaded not guilty.
