Accused September 11 mastermind to face trial at Guantanamo
WASHINGTON |
(Reuters) - Accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four suspected co-conspirators were ordered on Wednesday to stand trial before a Guantanamo war crimes tribunal, the Pentagon said, a move that throws the politically charged case into the limelight in an election year.Convictions on the most serious charges, which include terrorism, hijacking, conspiracy and murder in violation of the law of war, could carry the death penalty.
The decision to move to trial in a military court is the latest chapter in a decade-long political and legal battle over handling detainees. One of the most contentious issues has been whether terrorism suspects like Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators should be tried in civilian courts as criminals or before military courts as enemy combatants.
The trial will bring a deep examination of the events leading up to 9/11, the deadliest attack ever carried out on U.S. soil and one that propelled the country into a global war against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The trial stands to be double-edged for President Barack Obama, who is running for a second term in November. It will remind voters about the killing of long-fugitive al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last year, a highlight of his presidency. But it could also draw attention to his failure to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, which he had promised to do as a candidate in the 2008 election.
The official overseeing the Guantanamo tribunals, retired Vice Admiral Bruce MacDonald, referred the case to a capital military commission on charges of terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians and other counts, the Pentagon said.
The case is fraught with controversy. All five defendants were held in secret CIA prisons before being sent to Guantanamo in 2006. The CIA has acknowledged subjecting Mohammed to a simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding during his interrogation, and other defendants have said they were abused.
The tribunals, which have gone through several revisions, ban the use of evidence gained through coercion, but critics say the hearsay rules are broad enough to allow the introduction of second-hand information obtained through torture.
Asked on Wednesday about the decision to proceed to trial, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "It has been more than 10 years since 9/11 ... and the president is committed to ensuring that those who were accused of perpetrating the attacks against the United States be brought to justice." Carney said Obama remained committed to closing the U.S. military facility in Cuba that houses high-risk terrorist suspects, blaming its continued operation on "obstacles ... from Congress."
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