US administration officials say the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks would probably remain in military detention without trial for the foreseeable future.
Buffeted by opposition from a number of US lawmakers from both houses in the state of New York, the administration said it cannot hold a tribunal for Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the prime suspect of the 9/11 attacks, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing unnamed administration officials.
According to the report, there’s also little internal support for a military prosecution at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba amid bickering over the fate of Sheikh Mohammad and other terror detainees held in US captivity at the prison camp.
Nevertheless, the officials have not ruled out the possibility of arranging a federal prosecution for the mastermind of the attacks and four alleged operatives, who conspired in the attacks.
Lawmakers and representatives, including Senator Charles Schumer and Peter King, both from New York, have pointed to security concerns and high costs as the main reasons for avoiding a tribunal for the suspects.
However, the White House says US President Barack Obama will make the final decision in response to the case.
Sheikh Mohammad was taken into custody in Pakistan in March 2003 and imprisoned at a secret CIA detention facility.
On September 6, 2006, then US President George W. Bush said the suspect was being transferred from CIA custody to military custody at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
Obama, who had pledged he would hold a federal tribunal for the suspect and had promised to shut down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, has so far failed to make good on his promises.
His plans have faced strong resistance by the Republicans, whose recent resurgence in the House of Representatives following their victory in the mid-term elections, is expected to further complicate Obama’s plans.
The fall-out comes as human rights groups, including Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights and US military defense lawyers, have lashed out at the military commissions for depriving the suspect of a fair trial.
They have called for Mohammad’s trial either in a federal court or a military one under the Geneva Conventions.
Source: Press TV