A defence lawyer who gained rare access to an ultra-secret section of the Guantanamo Bay prison said yesterday it does not meet international standards under the Geneva Convention.

The chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals said that he is seeking to withdraw one of the eight charges against five men accused of planning and aiding the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The man who called himself the “mastermind” of the September 11 attacks, and four comrades, are back before a military judge in Guantanamo Bay to face charges that could lead to their execution.