New York ( CNN ) -- The defendant 's testimony in a stilled Manhattan courtroom Wednesday took a federal jury half a world and many years away , to a mountain cave in the desolation of Afghanistan , to the hours after the September 11 , 2001 , terror attacks . In that mountain cave , defendant Sulaiman Abu Ghaith testified , sat the man who had summoned him , his future father-in law : Osama bin Laden . Bin Laden invited him to sit , Abu Ghaith said , and then asked if he 'd heard what happened . `` We are the ones who did it , '' Abu Ghaith , speaking through an Arabic interpreter , quoted bin Laden as saying . Bin Laden then asked for his opinion of what to expect , Abu Ghaith said . `` America will not rest until it accomplishes two things , '' Abu Ghaith testified he told bin Laden . `` To kill you , and to destroy the Taliban . '' `` You 're being too pessimistic , '' bin Laden responded . Abu Ghaith 's testimony came on the ninth day of his trial on federal charges that he aided terrorists relating to the 9/11 attacks and conspired to kill U.S. nationals . He has pleaded not guilty to charges that could send him to prison for life if he is convicted . As he testified Wednesday , several survivors of the attacks and family members of victims sat in the courtroom just blocks away from the World Trade Center and ground zero . Prosecutors in the terror trial contend Abu Ghaith was an al Qaeda propagandist , with a crucial role in recruiting and inciting the organization 's members . Prosecutors have played videos for the jury of Abu Ghaith seated at bin Laden 's side , giving speeches filled with fiery rhetoric and issuing calls to `` terrorize the infidels . '' The defendant said he initially met bin Laden in June of 2001 , when he traveled to Afghanistan on `` a mission that you may call humanitarian , '' because of his curiosity about the Islamist Taliban government , and because he thought his skills as an educator and religious scholar could be of use there . In his native Kuwait , Abu Ghaith spent a decade working for the Ministry of Education , and was a licensed imam with a reputation in the Gulf region , he said on the stand . Shortly after his arrival in the country , Abu Ghaith said , bin Laden summoned him for the first of several meetings . Bin Laden invited him to speak at training camps , saying the men there were exposed to `` weapons , roughness , and a hard life , '' but needed spiritual focus and a lesson in mercy , testified Abu Ghaith . At the camps , he heard talk there was a big al Qaeda operation in the works , he said , but he denied knowing the specifics of the 2001 attack ahead of time . The first of the video recordings was made at the September 11 meeting , after bin Laden asked for a reluctant Abu Ghaith 's help to send a worldwide message , Abu Ghaith testified . He relented only after bin Laden promised to give him `` bullet points , '' and that he 'd speak on religious matters only . `` The storm of airplanes will not abate , '' Abu Ghaith said on one of the recordings , a phrase he testified Wednesday was among the notes bin Laden gave him for the speech . He maintained in court that his use of `` we '' and `` us '' in the videos referred to Muslims and not to al Qaeda , and that he was never a member of the organization . Abu Ghaith was not asked on the stand about his subsequent marriage to one of bin Laden 's daughters . Abu Ghaith was captured last year after years of being among a group of alleged al Qaeda operatives sheltered in Iran . He was arrested in Turkey and deported to Kuwait via Jordan , which helped U.S. agents capture him . Testimony continues Thursday , with two remaining defense witnesses . Closing arguments in the case are expected Monday . What did abu Ghaith tell authorities on plane trip to U.S. ? 9/11 mastermind defends bin Laden 's son-in-law in court statement .
Osama bin Laden 's , bin Ladan son-in-law , is on trial in federal court . He is accused of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and being al Qaeda 's propagandist . On Wednesday , he took the stand in his defense . He testifies he told Osama bin Laden 's , al Qaeda 's will not rest until it accomplishes 9/11 things ''