Physician on Trial for Pledging Oath to bin Laden

A Columbia-educated physician pledged loyalty to Al Qaida when he swore an oath of fealty to Osama bin Laden in a Bronx apartment two years ago, a government prosecutor told a federal jury yesterday in Manhattan. Rafiq Sabir is also accused of offering to treat wounded jihadists in Saudi Arabia. The oath was administered by an undercover informant of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Prosecutor Karl Metzner urged jurors to convict the 52-year-old physician, who faces three decades in prison if found guilty. The lead defense attorney, Edward Wilford, is expected to give his summation today.