Prosecutors: Times Square car bomb suspect to appear in court Tuesday on 5 felony charges

Feds: Times Square bomb suspect to appear in court

NEW YORK — New York prosecutors say the suspect in the botched car bombing in Times Square will make a first appearance in federal court.

Prosecutors announced that Faisal Shahzad (FY’-sul shah-ZAHD’) would appear in court later Tuesday on five felony charges related to the May 1 botched bombing.

The 30-year-old Shahzad has been held at an undisclosed location since his May 3 arrest on charges he abandoned a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square.

Authorities say he has voluntarily waived his rights to an initial court appearance while he cooperates.

A cousin of his father calls his arrest “a conspiracy.”

Shahzad, of Bridgeport, Conn., was arrested John F. Kennedy International Airport on charges he drove an SUV rigged with a homemade car bomb into Times Square. An initial appearance in court typically happens within a day or two of a suspect’s arrest.

New York attorney Ron Kuby, in a letter to the chief U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan, accused authorities of violating Shahzad’s rights by “squeezing him for information” in secret.

Kuby doesn’t represent Shahzad. But in the letter, he argued that federal authorities — by holding Shahzad for “an unprecedented third week of captivity” — were violating criminal procedures requiring suspects to be promptly presented in court.

Associated Press writer Tom Hays contributed to this report.