Airline bomb suspect to appear in court

A Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a packed US airliner on Christmas Day will appear in court in Detroit, Michigan, today.

With so much evidence stacked against Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (aged 23) experts say the former London student's defence team is left with few options as the case moves forward.

Lawyers outside the case say his lawyers can challenge incriminating statements to the FBI, seek a mental health exam for Abdulmutallab - and seriously consider a plea deal.

A grand jury indicted Abdulmutallab on six charges, including the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

The offence carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

"This is not a case of mistaken identity or a whodunit. For the defence, it's damage control," said Joseph Niskar, a defence lawyer involved in a 2001 terrorism case in Detroit that fell apart for the government.

The weapon of mass destruction, according to the government, was an explosive hidden under the suspect's clothing. The FBI says Abdulmutallab tried to detonate it with a syringe of chemicals.

Since the failed attack, security at airports in the US and around the world has tightened as the Obama administration acknowledged government missteps in the near-catastrophe.

On Sunday, Mr Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, said Abdulmutallab would be offered a plea deal in exchange for valuable information about his contacts in Yemen and elsewhere.

Abdulmutallab's lawyers did not return messages seeking comment and Detroit's new US attorney, Barbara McQuade, said no offer had yet been made.

"We'll take the case one step at a time," said Ms McQuade, who handled national-security cases before her promotion.

"If he wants to plead guilty he has the right to do that. ... We need to prepare as if this case is going to trial."

Some lawyers, however, doubt that Abdulmutallab would really want to help the US by co-operating with investigators.

"A person who wants to blow himself up in an airplane over Detroit is not looking to shave some time off in the big house," said Lloyd Meyer, a former terrorism prosecutor at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

"I have no doubt he will welcome the world stage of a federal courtroom. They want a public forum. They want the spotlight to show why they are holy warriors against the great Satan."

Abdulmutallab's defence is being handled by Detroit federal defenders including the head of the office, Miriam Siefer, a highly regarded lawyer.

"I don't know if they would find a lawyer who would do a better job," said long-time local defence attorney David Steingold.

Abdulmutallab's lawyers did not get the case until he was charged the day after the failed attack. By then he had talked to investigators about training with al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.

"They may be able to challenge his statements, whether he was given Miranda rights," said Keith Corbett, a former organised-crime prosecutor in Detroit.

But beyond any incriminating words, "you still have a large number of witnesses who saw things in a confined space. That's going to pose a serious problem to the defence".

In announcing the indictment on Wednesday, US attorney general Eric Holder said the investigation had produced "valuable intelligence" about the failed attack.