Trial of accused 9/11 mastermind resumes, days before 20th anniversary

GUANTANAMO BASE, AFP: Accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others appeared in court for the first time in more than 18 months on Tuesday as US military prosecutors seek justice two decades after the world-shaking terror attacks.

Echoing the challenges of nine years of pre-trial hearings, the new judge, Air Force Colonel Matthew McCall, adjourned the session after just two and a half hours over procedural issues related to his appointment.

It is expected to resume Wednesday, though arguments over substantive evidence issues might not resume until next week.

Mohammed, with a dense, graying red beard, earlier Tuesday strode into the courtroom in the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the nine-year-old trial resumed after a long halt for the Covid-19 pandemic. The military tribunal courtroom was packed with prosecutors, interpreters, and five defense teams for Mohammed and alleged co-conspirators Ammar al-Baluchi, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

In the public gallery, behind thick glass, were members of the families of the 2,976 people that the defendants are accused of murdering almost exactly 20 years ago.

The accused face possible execution if found guilty.

But the pretrial phase now in its ninth year and bogged down over what is now the central issue -- that the five were repeatedly tortured by the CIA after their capture.

Without a political intervention -- President Joe Biden had pledged during his campaign to close down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay -- it could be more than a year before a full trial begins, let alone a verdict reached.