NEXT STEP: Three terrorists in orange prison garb, including Abu Hamza al-Masri, are led off a plane early yesterday in Westchester County. (Frank Rosario/Christopher Sadowski)
SINISTER: De-hooked imam Abu Hamza al-Masri is accused of plotting terror in places including Oregon, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Can somebody give him a hand?
The hate-spewing imam accused of scheming to set up a terror training camp in Oregon made his first court appearance yesterday on US soil — without his trademark hook prosthetic.
Abu Hamza al-Masri’s lawyer, speaking in Manhattan federal court, complained that the decision by US authorities to remove both his prosthetics — leaving two reddened stumps exposed during the 13-minute appearance — was, well, off the hook.
For nearly a decade, al-Masri had been fighting extradition from Great Britain, where the cleric served a prison term for inciting racial hatred and encouraging his followers to kill non-Muslims.
He touched down early yesterday at Westchester County Airport with two cronies.
The radical Islamist, who faces multiple life sentences, will be tried in Manhattan and will be jailed locally during that process.
In the meantime, al-Masri has a list of demands to make his stay more comfortable, his public defender said.
“Mr. Mustafa would appreciate if the Bureau of Prisons would return to him his prosthetics so he can use his arms,” said Sabrina Shroff, using the newly extradited cleric’s given name.
The preacher who faces a litany of terror charges — including helping to plan a 1998 Yemen kidnapping and facilitating jihad in Afghanistan — also needs a dictating machine “because he can’t take notes,” Shroff said.
Al-Masri also needs non-slip shoes and a special diet and exercise to control his diabetes, the lawyer added.
“If he falls, it would be more harmful to him than an average human being,” because al-Masri can’t catch himself if he tumbles, she said.
If he doesn’t get his prosthetics, officials will need to assist him, she said.
“To the extent that Mr. Mustafa does not receive his prosthetics immediately, he will need someone to help with the care of his daily needs,” she said. “I ask that the Bureau of Prisons attend to that immediately, otherwise he will not be able to function in a civilized manner.”
Federal prison officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The cleric lost his hands and one eye reportedly while fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Al-Masri — who reportedly called the Sept. 11 attacks “a towering day in history” — appeared in court wearing a long white beard, short white hair and reading glasses. He donned blue scrubs and an orange undershirt commonly given to high-risk inmates in the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center’s “terror” wing.
Al-Masri remained silent throughout the proceedings and read court documents as Magistrate Judge Frank Maas listed off the litany of charges.
He spoke only when the judge asked him if he swore by his financial statement. “I do,” he said.
He will be arraigned Tuesday morning.
Outside court, Shroff said her client has good manners.
“He seemed very much of a gentleman,” she said.
“Obviously he’s an arrogant bastard,” said Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. “He is an evil person.”
Four other suspected terrorists were extradited from Britain.
Khalid al-Fawwaz, 50, and Adel Abdel Bary, 52, entered not-guilty pleas in Manhattan federal court to charges that they participated in the bombings of two US embassies in Africa in 1998, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.
In New Haven, Conn., Syed Talha Ahsan, 33, and Babar Ahmad, 38, entered not-guilty pleas to charges that they provided terrorists in Afghanistan and Chechnya with cash, recruits and equipment.
All men face up to life in prison if convicted.