GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed today brazenly challenged the legitimacy of the tribunal that will try him on 2,976 counts of murder.
Appearing in court for the first time in four years, Mohammed — who wore a white turban and whose flowing gray beard was now streaked with red Henna — refused to speak.
“Mr. Mohammed will decline to address the court,” declared his lawyer, David Nevin. He is “deeply concerned about the fairness of the proceeding.”
RELATIVES OF 9/11 VICTIMS WATCHING PLOTTERS’ ARRAIGNMENT AT FORT HAMILTON IN NYC
At one point, the Mohammed looked down, as if he was sleeping. At other times, he moved his head to watch the proceeding, scowling and sneering at points.
Army Col. James Pohl, the tribunal’s president, said the hearing would go ahead regardless of Mohammad’s complaints.
“One cannot choose to not participate,” Pohl said, adding that the hearing would proceed whether or not Mohammed answers questions.
Mohammed and his co-defendants removed the earphones that provide them Arabic translations. His lawyer surprised the court by saying his refusal “has to do with the torture that was imposed upon him.”
Pohl replied that he was trying to stay away from the issue of torture at least temporarily. It was the first reference to torture in a proceeding that promises to focus on that issue heavily.
Mohammed’s refusal to participate is a dramatic departure from 2008, when he insisted on leading his minions to plead guilty and seek to have all of them executed so they could go down as martyrs.
Adding to the hearing’s circus-like atmosphere, three of the accused, including Mohammad, randomly stood at various times during the hearing and bowed in prayer. They then stopped. The judge made note of it once, and afterwards ignored it.
“When detainees stand up, the guards get antsy,” Pohl said.
Co-defendant Walid bin Attash was put in a restraint chair for unspecified reasons and then removed from it after he agreed to behave.
Bin Attash’s lawyer Cheryl Bormann appeared in conservative Islamic garb and asked the court to order other women present to wear “appropriate” clothing so that defendants do not have to avert their eyes “for fear of committing a sin under their faith.”
There was also arguing about the defendants’ attire, their location in the courtroom and the order of the hearing.
Cmdr. Walker Ruiz, a lawyer for alleged conspirator Mustafa al Hawsawi, questioned Pohl’s authority to even open the proceeding.
Pohl slapped him down.
“I’m not taking motions out of order,” he said sternly, growing impatient. “You will be able to make your motions at the appropriate time.”
In between the maneuvers, the judge went through a lengthy step-by-step process of reading the charges, naming the lawyers and asking what the qualifications are for the attorneys.
Mohammed and his gang each has a sizeable legal team that includes at least one outside attorney paid for by the government, called a “learned counsel.”
The defense lawyers — even those who are uniformed military officers — contributed to the wild atmosphere by trying to frustrate the judge by repeatedly raising issues Pohl didn’t want to hear, and refusing to deal with the topics he wanted to handle.
“Let me say this again: When we get done with the arraignment, then it’s time for motions,” Pohl said in frustration.
Out of nowhere at around noon, bin al Shibh began shouting.
“Maybe you’re not going to see me anymore… It’s about the treatment at the camp…Maybe they are going to kill us!”
He concluded by imploring the judge for permission to speak. “The right time is now, not tomorrow,” he said.
The judge disagreed and insisted he could speak at the proper time.
Victims’ relatives and reporters are watching from a secure gallery, separated from the courtroom by two layers of clear glass.
The gallery is soundproof, and the audio is on a 40-second delay so military censors can shut down the feed in case someone says something classified as secret.
Today’s hearing is “only the beginning of a trial that will take years to complete, followed by years of appellate review,” attorney James Connell, who represents defendant Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, told reporters,
“I can’t imagine any scenario where this thing gets wrapped up in six months,” Connell said.
Since Mohammed’s capture in Pakistan nine years ago, it has been widely assumed that he would eventually face execution for organizing the Sept. 11 attacks, which led to the deaths of 2,976 people in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.
The prosecution has repeatedly stalled over obstacles – including the uncertain legal consequences of the brutal treatment inflicted upon defendants such as Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times by the CIA, The Wall Street Journal reported.
By 2008, the Bush administration had begun pre-trial proceedings against the Sept. 11 defendants before a military commission authorized by Congress to consider some statements obtained through “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
Those proceedings were halted after the election of President Barack Obama, who as a senator had voted against the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
After a review of detainee policies, Attorney General Eric Holder decided that the Sept. 11 defendants should be tried in federal court in New York, but reversed course under pressure from Republicans and safety concerns.
The Obama administration took steps to make proceedings at the remote facility more accessible, providing closed-circuit feeds that relatives of Sept. 11 victims can view at military bases in the US.
With NewsCore and AP