The trial of the organizers of the attacks 9-11

On Saturday, the process of organizing the attacks of 9-11 began at the American base of Guantanamo in Cuba. The defendants tried to do everything to disrupt the first hearing of the military tribunal.

In total, in the dock there were five terrorists led by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. On the occasion of his appearance in public, he dyed his graying beard with henna and put on a white turban.

The meeting of the military tribunal began at 9 in the morning local time, and was immediately interrupted, because the defendants immediately removed the headphones for simultaneous translation.

Other defendants — Ramzi Binalshibi, Walid bin Attach, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa al Nousui — supported Mohammed and refused to answer questions from a military judge, Colonel James Paul.

When the hearing resumed, the two defendants began to pray right in the courtroom. Lawyers for the accused immediately complained that their clients were not allowed to appear in court in civilian clothes. They then began to challenge the court’s competence and demand access to the evidence. They also demanded translators.

The civil lawyer of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, David Nevin, said that his client does not answer the judge’s questions, as he considers the tribunal unfair. And Mohammed refuses to wear headphones because it reminds him of the torture suffered.

During the court session, all five viewed the Koran, magazines and other texts.

A Yemeni civilian judge, Ramzi Binalshibi, Jim Harrington, a civilian judge, said his client would not answer the judge’s questions until a question was raised about the conditions of imprisonment.

Attaché’s lawyer, Cheryl Borman, appeared at a tribunal meeting in a conservative Islamic gown, leaving only his face open. She demanded that all the other women in the courtroom follow her example and put on “decently”, so that the defendants would not have to avert their eyes in order to avoid sin.

Attach, whose family was friends with Osama bin Laden, insisted that Cheryl Borman wear a black hijab, because otherwise he refused to meet with her at all.

Earlier, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed stated that he and his comrades simply admit guilt and will gladly accept the death of the martyr, but, apparently, the defenders and their clients are preparing for a long, many-year struggle. “This is just the beginning. The trial will take several years, and then several more years will be spent on appeals. This will not be over in six months,” said lawyer James Connell, who represents Abdul Aziz Ali.

As you know, President Obama’s efforts to conduct a civil trial of terrorists have failed. In 2009, attorney general Eric Holder even announced that the organizers of the attack would be tried not far from the crime scene, but Congress blocked the transfer of terrorists from Guantanamo prison in the US, and the Obama administration had to agree to a military tribunal.

When hearing a military tribunal, defendants usually do not make statements about their guilt or innocence. Instead, the judge reads the charges, checks, informs the defendants of their rights, and then proceeds to procedural matters.