Benghazi suspect pleads not guilty to murder counts

Washington (AFP) - A Libyan national accused of orchestrating the deadly 2012 attacks on the US mission in Benghazi pleaded not guilty Monday to new murder charges which carry the death penalty.

Sporting a long, wiry black and white beard, and wearing a green prisoner jumpsuit, Ahmed Abu Khattala rose in front of US District Judge Christopher Cooper as his lawyer pleaded not guilty in his name to the 17 charges linked to the death of then US ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Abu Khattala, 43, had already pleaded not guilty in June to conspiracy charges after he was brought to the United States.

He faces an additional charge of murder of an internationally protected person, which is punishable by death.

He also faces charges of murdering an officer and employee of the United States, killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility, and maliciously damaging and destroying US property by means of fire and an explosive causing death.

Abu Khattala's lawyer Michelle Peterson, pressed the Justice Department to provide requested documents, much of which are classified.

"The meaningful information... we don't have that yet," she said. "We should have 100 percent of them, not 60 to 80 percent of them five months later."

Assistant US Attorney Michael DiLorenzo stressed that the government has so far provided "thousands of thousands" of pages of documents to the defense team and some 130 hours of interviews.

"It's a death penalty case; the scope is broader," he said.

Judge Cooper granted a delay to both parties, citing the complexities of the case. The next hearing is set for December 9, though no date has yet been announced to open the trial.

The US State Department has identified Abu Khatalla as a senior leader of Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan group responsible for a spate of attacks and assassinations.

The September 11, 2012 attacks, which also targeted a CIA annex, shocked the nation and became a highly charged political talking point in across the United State.

The assault raised questions about security at US diplomatic facilities worldwide and the accuracy of US intelligence on militant threats.

Republicans charged that the White House failed to respond decisively and then tried to hide some facts in the grisly episode.

The Obama administration, in turn, has accused critics of politicizing a tragic event.