 THE trial of a Yemeni imam accused of supplying millions of dollars to Osama bin Laden and Hamas has begun in New York. Jury selection was expected to take about two weeks, with the prosecution to begin presenting its case on January 25. Mohammed Al Hasan Al-Moayad, 56, was detained with another Yemeni in Germany in January 2003 and extradited to the US later that year. US Attorney-General John Ashcroft said in announcing charges against Mr Al-Moayad in March 2003: "The FBI undercover operation developed information that Al-Moayad personally handed Osama bin Laden $US20 million ($26.3m) from his terrorist fundraising network." Mr Al-Moayad is said to be an imam at the al-Ihsan mosque in Sanaa, one of the most important mosques in the Yemeni capital. |