Sulaiman Jassem Sulaiman Ali Abu Ghaith (; born 14 December 1965) is a Kuwaiti regarded as one of al-Qaeda's spokesmen. He is married to one of Osama bin Laden's daughters. He is serving his sentence at the federal ADX Florence prison in Colorado.
Activities during the 1991 Gulf War
Abu Ghaith, who grew up with the Muslim Brotherhood, first gained attention during the 1990–1991 Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait. His sermons denouncing the occupation and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein gained him some degree of popularity amongst the Kuwaiti people. In 1992, he went to Bosnia and Herzegovina for nearly a month to do some "relief services" there. He later joined Muslim guerillas in the Bosnian War in summer 1994.
Arrival in Afghanistan in June 2000
In June 2000, he left Kuwait for Afghanistan, where he met Osama bin Laden and joined his al-Qaeda organization. His affinity for public speaking and comparative youth put him at the head of al-Qaeda's attempt to widen its appeal from ultra-conservative and mostly elderly clerics to the general population and especially the youth of majority-Muslim countries; in this capacity, he quickly became the organization's spokesman.
Al Wafa
According to documents in the unclassified dossier from Adel al Zamel's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was also a founder of Al Wafa al Igatha al Islamia, a charity the USA asserts provided a plausible front for al Qaeda's fund-raising efforts.
One of the allegations against Al Zamil, who was also accused of being a founder of al Wafa, was that he helped Abu Ghaith's family leave Afghanistan around the time of the attacks of 9–11.
Al Qaeda video after 9/11
He rose to worldwide attention following the 11 September 2001, attacks. On 10 October 2001, he appeared on two widely circulated videos (first broadcast on al Jazeera television) to defend the attacks and threaten reprisals for the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, saying, "Americans should know, the storm of the planes will not stop... Thousands of the Islamic nation's youths are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live." These statements caused the Kuwaiti government to strip him of his citizenship.
In 2002, while living in Iran, he posted a statement that al Qaeda has "the right to kill four million Americans, including one million children, displace double that figure, and injure and cripple hundreds and thousands."
Alleged connection to the Faylaka Island attackers
According to The Long War Journal American officials assert that Sulaiman Abu Ghaith attended al Qaeda's airport training camp with Anas al Kandari and Faiz al Kandari.
In September 2010, the Long War Journal falsely reported that Abu Ghaith had been freed by Iran and had left the country for Afghanistan.
Presence in Turkey 2013
In late January 2013, Abu Ghaith entered Turkey from Iran, staying in a hotel in Ankara. For a brief period, he was detained at the request of the United States but was released since he had committed no crime in Turkey. Turkish authorities held him as "a guest" since he did not have a passport at the time. Rather than extradite him to the United States, the Turkish authorities decided to deport him to his home country, Kuwait. He pleaded not guilty on 8 March 2013.
On 8 April 2013, Abu Ghaith's attorneys were considering a request for change of venue, since New York City received the greatest loss from the attacks on 11 September 2001. Abu Ghaith's lawyers sought the right to call upon Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as a witness. On 18 March 2014, this request was denied by a New York federal judge.
On 26 March 2014, Abu Ghaith was convicted of "conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists"