British al-Qaida Plotter to Testify in U.S. Trial

A Briton convicted of involvement in an al-Qaida airline shoebombing attempt is to give evidence in the U.S. trial of a man accused of plotting to bomb New York's subway, prosecutors said Monday.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Saajid Muhammad Badat -- who was jailed for 13 years in 2005 -- had entered into an agreement to testify in a New York Court against Adis Medunjanin in a trial starting Monday.

A judge has reduced Badat's sentence to 11 years due to his cooperation, the CPS said in a statement.

"This trial is the first time a UK convicted terrorist, has agreed, under the terms of our agreement, to give evidence in the United States," said Sue Hemming, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division.

"We considered very carefully the merits of entering into this agreement with a convicted terrorist, and we believe that the administration of justice internationally benefits from such an agreement."

Medunjanin is going on trial charged with an al-Qaida-inspired scheme to bomb the New York subway system in 2009. He has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in August 2010.

Badat, a British-born Muslim, was jailed seven years ago after pleading guilty to plotting a suicide bomb attack on a U.S.-bound flight in December 2001 in tandem with Richard Reid.

Reid, who is also British, tried but failed to blow up a plane in mid-air with explosives hidden in his shoes. He is now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Hemming said that in prison Badat "fully co-operated" with Scotland Yard and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and "provided information of overwhelming importance in relation to investigations they were conducting."

He entered into an agreement with British police in 2009 and in the same year a judge took into account his "valuable assistance" and reduced his jail term by two years, the statement said.

"Badat has helped with investigations in this country, he continues to co-operate and has agreed to testify in other trials if called upon," Hemming said.