DETROIT (Reuters) ? The federal trial of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, began on Tuesday with questioning of several potential jurors.
Abdulmutallab is charged with attempting to detonate an explosive device sewn into his underwear as Northwest Flight 253 approached Detroit. But the device malfunctioned and burned Abdulmutallab, who was then overpowered by other passengers.
The Nigerian is accused of eight felonies, including conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, attempted murder and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
He faces life in prison if convicted of the botched suicide bombing.
Over the next few days, the jury pool will be winnowed down to 12 jurors and four alternates.
Abdulmutallab, 24, dressed in an oversized white T-shirt, sat quietly at his defense table as court was called to order, his fingers intertwined in front of him in a prayer-like fashion.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds immediately advised him he might want to wear a shirt with a collar to make a better impression on jurors.
At first, Abdulmutallab indicated he did not want to wear the Western clothes his court-appointed standby counsel had purchased for him, but acceded and court was adjourned briefly while U.S. Marshals took him away to put on more formal clothes.
When the court reconvened a few minutes later, Abdulmutallab was dressed in a black jacket with thin pinstripes over a tan-colored robe and baggy Mideastern-style pants. He also was wearing a black skull cap.
Before the first juror was brought into the room, Abdulmutallab blurted out: "Anwar is alive" -- a possible reference to Anwar al-Awlaki, an American living in Yemen who was linked to Abdulmutallab and killed by a U.S. drone attack last week.
As the judge began to quiz the potential jurors, the difficulty she may face in finding a fair and impartial jury became evident.
QUICK DISMISSAL
The first potential juror, a former Detroit police officer, was quickly dismissed. The second, a secretary in the auto industry, lasted a little longer.
But when asked by Edmunds if she thought she could withhold judgment unless the government established Abdulmutallab's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, she said, "I don't think so."
"He tried to kill 300 innocent people ... I feel he's very guilty."
Nine prospective jurors were questioned before a midmorning break and six -- five women and one man -- remained in the pool. Edmunds told potential jurors that final jury selection would take place on Thursday afternoon.
Abdulmutallab, a fluent English speaker, had said he wanted to represent himself at the trial, which could make the normally routine process of picking a jury panel unpredictable.
During a pretrial hearing last month, he muttered "Osama's alive" to some spectators as he was brought into the courtroom and mumbled "jihad" when the judge used the phrase "al Qaeda" as she read the charges against him.
As the jury selection began on Tuesday he was alternating questioning with the standby counsel.
Opening arguments are scheduled to begin October 11. The trial is expected to last about one month after that.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- based in Yemen -- claimed responsibility for the botched airliner attack. The attempted bombing was also praised by Osama bin Laden in 2010.
In the aftermath of the failed Christmas Day bombing, the United States authorized the targeted killing of al-Awlaki.
Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas in November 2009, also allegedly had links to al-Awlaki.
(Editing by David Bailey and Jerry Norton)
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