JURORS trying former Muslim cleric Abu Hamza on terrorism charges have been played video recordings of him praising Osama bin Laden as a hero.
The tapes were used in evidence against the former London-based preacher's trial in New York, but had been previously used to convict him of inciting hatred in the UK.
The tapes also show him calling non-Muslims 'pigs' and saying the September 11 2001 attacks on the US made "everybody" happy.
Prosecutors played Hamza's words in an attempt to undermine his claims of innocence during the final day of their case against him yesterday.
The one-eyed, handless preacher complained prosecutors were cherry-picking quotes and taking them out of context.
He told the court: "You just cut and paste. Why don't you play the whole thing?"
Egyptian-born Hamza, 56, is charged with providing advice and a satellite phone to Yemeni kidnappers in 1998 in an operation that ended with the deaths of Western four hostages.
He is also accused of sending two men to set up a jihadist training camp in the US and dispatching followers and money to Afghanistan to support al Qaida and the Taliban.
Hamza, who denies all the charges, served eight years in a British jail for inciting violence through his sermons before being extradited to the US in October 2012.
In one video Hamza said non-believers in Muslim countries could be seized, enslaved and even killed. In another, he called bin Laden "an example for all of the mujahideen."
When asked by Assistant US Attorney John Cronan Cronan, if he was speaking in one video, Hamza replied: "You want to give me another seven years for it?" He added that he had apologised. Closing arguments are due to begin later today.
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