9/11 suspects head to trial at Guantanamo - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 suspects head to trial at Guantanamo

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- The US government's halting effort to prosecute alleged organizers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks resumes Saturday at the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the planned arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants before a military judge.

But the Obama administration's decision to use a military commission that denies defendants some rights they could claim in federal court makes it likely that the proceedings themselves will receive as much scrutiny as the accusations against the defendants, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Counsel for the defendants held a press conference late Friday questioning the "presumptive classification" of every piece of information related to the trial -- noting that even standard pre-trial inquiries of "what will your client's plea be?" and "how is the defendant feeling?" could not legally be answered because the information was classified.

Since Mohammed's capture in Pakistan nine years ago, it has been widely assumed that he eventually would face execution for organizing the Sept. 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

Mohammed has boasted of conceiving not only the simultaneous hijacking that day of four airliners that were crashed into the two World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, but myriad other acts, including the murder of The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

But the prosecution repeatedly has stalled over obstacles of the government's own creation, in particular the uncertain legal consequences of the brutal treatment inflicted upon defendants such as Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times by the CIA, the Journal said.

The Obama administration has taken steps to make proceedings at the remote facility more accessible, providing closed-circuit feeds that the public, the media and relatives of Sept. 11 victims can view at several stateside military bases.

Still, many of the legal filings remain secret and the government can call closed sessions or block the audio feed should the defendants say anything officials wish to conceal.

Defense lawyers maintain that the proceedings against their clients have been so flawed that charges should be dismissed. Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, a defense lawyer, has asked that his motion seeking dismissal be heard at Saturday's session.

The charges, which carry a potential death penalty, were approved by the Pentagon a month ago.

In addition to Mohammed, those scheduled for arraignment include four men accused of various roles in the Sept. 11 operation. They are Walid bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al Hawsawi, the Journal reported.

Read More: 9/11 suspects head to trial at Guantanamo

 

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