9 11 trial ksm

Bin al-Shibh also responded in English, while the other three men communicated through translators. While Mohammed has a reputation for courtroom outbursts, in a twist, it was the judge who became the central focus of the day's hearing. As part of his debut on the bench in the proceedings, Col. Matthew McCall -- who was named to preside over the case last month -- conducted a review of his qualifications, opening himself up for questions from the prosecution and the defense.

One of Mohammed's attorneys, Gary Sowards, latched on to McCall's circuitous route to his appointment. McCall was initially selected to oversee the trial last year, but withdrew after prosecutors objected, citing his lack of experience. He was reinstated after completing two years as a military judge, meeting the minimum requirement for the war court.

Sowards questioned McCall on whether the prosecution's complaints had resulted in undue influence over the judiciary, resulting in his temporary removal from the case.

The defense argued that this allowed for another judge to step in and -- after a prolonged legal fight -- authorize the destruction of a CIA black site, a secret international prison where terror suspects were subjected to "enhanced interrogation tactics" like waterboarding, which many human rights organizations consider to be torture. During the questioning, McCall remained level, describing the situation as legally ambiguous in his estimation, but went along with the withdrawal to avoid complicating an already very complicated case.

But moments later, the prosecution interrupted, informing the bench of a newly issued Military Commission Review on the exact topic of discussion. As of July, 39 prisoners remain at Guantanamo. September 7, pm Updated September 7, pm.

AP Photo, File. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will face 2, counts of murder and related charges. Share This Article. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! There has been frequent turnover of judges and lawyers. But the biggest factor in why it's taking so long, defense lawyers and other experts say, is the secrecy. It took years for defense lawyers to get summaries of the classified evidence against their clients, and they say they still don't have everything they need, even though they all possess top-secret security clearances.

Inside the courtroom, journalists and family members must watch behind a wall of thick glass. The sound is piped in on a second delay to guard against the defendants blurting out something classified, officials said. And what classified information might al Qaeda operatives possess?

In court papers, prosecutors have blamed the defense for the delays, noting that defense lawyers have filed motion after motion challenging huge swaths of evidence. Experts say at the rate the case is proceeding, there could be another decade of procedural hearings. To get here Saturday, more than a hundred people boarded a military charter at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at the crack of dawn — prosecutors, defense attorneys, FBI agents, military officials, relatives of victims and journalists — after taking a rapid Covid test.

It was a full day of travel, underscoring the logistical difficulty of getting in and out. After a status conference Sunday, it became clear that even less may happen this week than expected. A senior lawyer on one of the legal teams is absent for unspecified personal reasons, and it's not clear that substantive arguments can proceed.

Bush opened the detention center in as he launched what he called a War on Terror, with the idea of keeping so-called enemy combatants there indefinitely. He filled it up, mixing low-level foot soldiers with terrorist masterminds, all held without charges being filed. Amid worldwide condemnation, his administration ended up releasing more than captives and granting the remaining prisoners access to lawyers.