9/11 ‘mastermind’ to face military trial at US base

The Pentagon has said it is ready to resume a trial at Guantanamo Bay for the acknowledged mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks and four other men.

The move comes more than two years after US president Barack Obama halted the case in an ultimately failed effort to prosecute them in a civilian court.

A Department of Defence legal official, known as the convening authority, has approved trying the five together on capital charges that include terrorism and murder, making them eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

They are expected to be arraigned in May before a military judge at the US base in Cuba. Prosecutors had filed the charges last May and there was little doubt the convening authority would refer the case to a military tribunal.

But lawyers had hoped that two of the men would be tried separately on non-capital charges because they are accused of relatively minor roles in the plot.

The five include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who admitted to being the “mastermind” behind the attacks. He had said he intended to plead guilty. His four co-defendants indicated they would abandon their defence as well. But after a series of pretrial hearings the case was put on hold when the administration decided it wanted to try them in civilian court.

Congress fought the administration’s effort to transfer Guantanamo prisoners to the US, forcing Obama to reverse course on trying prisoners in civilian courts and preventing him from closing the prison.

The president and congress have amended the tribunals but defence lawyers and human rights groups still say the system favours the prosecution, with a jury and judge who are all military officers.

“The military commissions were set up to achieve easy convictions and hide the reality of torture, not to provide a fair trial,” said Anthony Romero, of the American Civil Liberties Union.