Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Sulaiman Abu Ghaith ( ) ( born 14 December 1965 ) is a Kuwaiti Islamist regarded as one of Al - Qaeda ' s official spokesmen . He is married to one of Osama bin Laden ' s daughters . Activities during the 1991 Gulf War . Abu Ghaith 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 . Following the defeat of Iraq , he turned his attention towards the Kuwaiti government and royal family , denouncing the 1962 constitution and demanding the institution of Sharia law . The Kuwaiti government subsequently removed him from the mosque and banned him from giving sermons , and he became a high school teacher of religion . 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 . Alleged to be a founder of al Wafa . According to documents in the unclassified dossier from Adil Zamil Abdull Mohssin Al Zamil ' s Combatant Status Review Tribunal Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was also a founder of Al Wafa al Igatha al Islamia , a charity that 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 . Appearance in an al Qaeda video news release after 9 - 11 . He rose to worldwide attention following the September 11 , 2001 , attacks . On October 10 , 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 . . . There are thousands of the Islamic nation ' s youths who are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live . " These statements caused the Kuwaiti government to strip him of his citizenship . 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 . Anas al Kandari was a young Kuwaiti who fired upon a squad of marines , killing one , in the Faylaka Island attack in 2002 . Faiz al Kandari is another Kuwaiti , who was held in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo from 2002 to 2008 . In 2008 charges were prepared against him to be referred to a Guantanamo military commission . According to " The Long War Journal " in his book " The Martyr ' s Oath " , Stewart Bell asserted Sulaiman Abu Ghaith recruited Anas al Kandari and the other shooter to launch the Faylaka Island attacks . Presence in Iran 2002 - 2013 . His whereabouts , as he moved around to escape capture by the United States in the following months , are unclear . According to " the Long War Journal " , by 2002 , Sulaiman was living in Iran . In July 2003 , a Kuwaiti minister announced that the Iranian government was holding Abu Ghaith and that Kuwait had refused an offer from Iran to extradite him to Kuwait . In March 2013 , it was reported that Abu Ghaith had spent most of the last ten years in Iran , under some sort of restriction . The " Long War Journal " described his detention as " " a loose form of house arrest " " . 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 . At the time , Turkish authorities held him as “ a guest ” since he does not have a passport . Rather than extradite him to the United States , the Turkish authorities decided to deport him to his home country , Kuwait . Arrest and extradition to the United States . On a stopover in Amman , Jordan , Abu Ghaith was arrested by Jordanian officials and turned over to US authorities on 7 March 2013 . He was subsequently extradite d to the United States , and housed in a federal prison in New York . Abu Ghaith is expected to face terrorism charges in U . S . federal court in New York City . The charges could result in life imprisonment if Abu Ghaith is found guilty . Abu Ghaith pleaded not guilty in a New York court on March 8 , 2013 , to conspiring to kill Americans . On April 8 , 2013 , Abu Ghaith ' s attorneys are considering a request for change of venue , since New York City received the greatest loss from the attacks on September 11 , 2001 .