WASHINGTON: A college student from Saudi Arabia accused of buying chemicals online as part of a plan to blow up key US targets appeared in federal court in Texas Friday. The Saudi Embassy in Washington has said it is closely following the arrest of Saudi national Khalid Al-Dossari who was detained in the US Wednesday on charges of intending to use weapons of mass destruction to target former US president George W. Bush, dams and nuclear plants. Na'il Al-Jubair, the embassy's media adviser in Washington, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the embassy is in “direct contact” with the US authorities concerning the arrest and that it has appointed a lawyer to represent 20-year-old Al-Dossari before the Federal Court in Lubbock, Texas. Rod Hobson, his attorney, declined to comment as he left the courtroom. In a statement, he said the “eyes of the world are on this case” and how Al-Dossari is treated. “This is not “Alice in Wonderland,” where the Queen said ‘First the punishment then the trial,”' Hobson's statement reads. “This is America, where everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, due process, effective representation of counsel and a fair trial.” Hobson said his client will plead not guilty. Judge Nancy Koenig asked the 20-year-old if he understood the charges against him, and ordered him to remain in custody until a March 11 detention hearing. Koenig said Al-Dossari faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. According to Al-Jubair, Al-Dossari entered the United States in 2008 on a student visa and studied at South Plains College in Texas “at his own expense”, and was not part of the King Abdullah Scholarships Abroad Program. He is suspected of attempting to obtain from early this month various quantities of the chemical explosive TNP via the Internet, Al-Jubair said. “The FBI gathered information showing that Al-Dossari had enough of the material in his possession to produce explosives, and made the arrest at his home where the materials were found,” Al-Jubair said. An FBI statement said that Al-Dossari was arrested on “a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device and his research of potential US targets”.
