Proceedings against suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed resumed

The trial against the alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four other people resumed on Tuesday, a few days before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, raising new hopes for justice.

Mohammed and his co-defendants, imprisoned for nearly 15 years in the “War on Terror” prison at the US naval base at Guantanamo (on the island of Cuba), appeared before the military court after a hiatus of almost 18 months . for the COVID pandemic.

The process continues where it left off, swallowed up by defense efforts to disqualify most government evidence: they claim it was obtained under torture while the defendants were in CIA detention.

On Sunday, New military judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall – the eighth in the case – signaled a slow start, deciding that a first audience focused on their own qualifications will take place this Tuesday. In a war crimes tribunal, lawyers for both sides are allowed to question the new judge about his possible bias.

The rest of the week will consist mainly of meetings with military prosecutors and defense teams..

With dozens of petitions demanding evidence that military prosecutors refuse to release, defense attorneys said the pre-trial phase could easily last another year, rejecting any hope of a jury trial and verdict. When asked if the case could come to this, defense attorney James Connell replied, “I don’t know.”

Lawyers say the five defendants – Mohammed, Ammar al-Baluchi, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi – are weak and suffer the lasting effects of the severe torture suffered at secret “black” sites of the CIA between 2002 and 2006. Added to this, according to lawyers, the cumulative impact of 15 years in difficult and isolated conditions since his arrival.

will appear in an ultra-secure military commission room surrounded by barbed wire, each with its own defense equipment.

In the audience there will be relatives of some of the 2,976 victims, as well as a large contingent of journalists to mark the confluence with Saturday’s dark anniversary.

All five face the death penalty for murder and terrorism in the war crimes tribunal.

They are represented by lawyers appointed by the military, as well as volunteer lawyers from the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

From the start of the case, prosecutors have viewed it as open and closed, even without the tainted information gleaned from the brutal CIA interrogations.

In exchange, Prosecutors maintain that all of the defendants provided solid evidence of plotting in the 9/11 attacks during so-called “clean team” interrogations conducted by the FBI in 2007 after the five arrived at Guantanamo..

But defense attorneys contend that the 2007 interrogations were not “clean” because the FBI also participated in the CIA’s torture program, and their interrogations carried a similar threat.

The defendants, who were still feeling the impact of the torture at the time, spoke to the FBI in real fear that it would happen again, the defense argues. “Make no mistake, the cover-up of the torture is the reason these men were brought to Guantanamo” rather than to US federal justice, said Connell, who represents Baluchi. “The cover-up of the torture is also the reason we are all gathered at Guantanamo for the 42nd hearing of the 9/11 military commission,” he said.

Delays

To prove your case, defense demands huge amounts of classified material that the government is reluctant to hand overMostly, from the original torture program to the conditions at Guantanamo and the health assessments.

Defense lawyers are also keen to question dozens of other witnesses, after 12 have already appeared in court, including two men who oversaw the CIA program.

The prosecutions delayed the trial, but the defense accuses the government of actively withholding documents relevant to the case. Alka Pradhan, another defense attorney, noted that it took six years for the government to admit that the FBI participated in the CIA torture program. “This case is wearing you out,” he said. “They are withholding things that are part of normal legal process.”

KEEP READING: