Prosecutors seek anonymous jury at February terrorism trial; defense objects, calls it unfair

Published January 01, 2016

The lawyer for a Vietnamese man facing a terrorism trial in New York City is urging a judge to reject the government's demands for an anonymous jury.

Attorney Bobbi Sternheim says her client — Minh Quang Pham — will be unjustly tarnished if jurors are anonymous.

Pham is charged with providing support to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Sternheim asked a Manhattan federal court judge Wednesday to resist the "increasingly prevalent climate of fear" by letting the defense investigate jurors.

Prosecutors say anonymous jurors are necessary because terrorists threaten to kill civilians and can strike anywhere, even in the United States.

The trial is scheduled to start Feb. 1. Pham pleaded not guilty after he was extradited from London to the United States in March.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/prosecutors-seek-anonymous-jury-at-february-terrorism-trial-defense-objects-calls-it-unfair