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 On Thursday, for what appeared to be the first time, Abu Hamza
claimed he lost both hands and one eye in an accidental explosion in
Pakistan two decades ago.
His account, which came as he testified in New York at his trial on
terrorism charges, conflicted with media stories that he suffered
the injuries while fighting the Soviets alongside the mujahideen in
Afghanistan.
The preacher said his image as a veteran of the Afghan war was
exaggerated by the press.
"Unfortunately, the reputation is larger than the reality," he told
a jury in Manhattan federal court, in a baritone that carried across
the room.
U.S. prosecutors have accused Abu Hamza of trying to set up a
jihadist training camp in Oregon and providing aid to al Qaeda and
the Taliban. He is also charged with helping Yemeni militants who in
1998 kidnapped a group of Western tourists, four of whom later died
during a military rescue operation.
 His lawyers have argued that he employed provocative language but
never participated in any crimes.
During nearly six hours of testimony on Thursday, Abu Hamza
described his travels to Afghanistan and elsewhere; prompted
laughter with a joke about John Travolta; and broke down while
recalling the aftermath of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia
that left thousands of Muslim villagers dead.
But it was the description of his crippling accident that riveted
the packed courtroom.
As a civil engineer, he said, he was working with the Pakistani army
in Lahore on a road project that involved explosives in 1993. At one
point, someone left a container of chemicals on a table, which he
picked up.
Finding it warm to the touch, he sought to throw it away, but the
container exploded in his hands, sending him into a coma.
His injuries made him a "hero" in the eyes of many Muslims when he
returned to London, he said.
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He said the stories that sprung up about how he lost his hands were
inaccurate.
"Some people said I went to Saudi Arabia and was caught stealing,
and they cut off my hands," he said, laughing.
During Wednesday's testimony, he also said visiting Srebrenica after
the massacre convinced him that young Muslims, even children, needed
training to defend themselves against oppressors.
He used inflammatory language in order to attract followers, he
said, but insisted his public persona was different from the adviser
he was in private. When individuals came to him with plans for
violence, he said he counseled restraint.
At one point, he said he believed Osama bin Laden needed to be
controlled. But he also acknowledged that he admired the former al
Qaeda leader.
"He was a very famous man," he said. "People loved him, including
myself."
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; editing by Andrew Hay)
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