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Five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks have been formally charged with crimes including murder and terrorism in a chaotic marathon hearing. Confessed 9\/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other accused opted to defer their pleas at Saturday\u2019s proceedings in a military tribunal at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — which lasted more than 13 hours.
The military tribunal was adjourned until June 12.
The five face the death penalty if convicted for their roles in the terror attacks by al-Qaeda militants in which hijacked planes were used to strike New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing 2,976 people.
The defendants were charged with \u201cconspiracy, attacking civilians, murder and violation of the law of war, destruction, hijacking and terrorism\u201d in connection with the attacks, the most lethal on US soil in modern history.
Mohammed, 47, was charged along with his Pakistani nephew Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi; Mustapha al-Hawsawi of Saudi Arabia; and Yemenis Ramzi Binalshibh and Walid bin Attash.
After defying the court for more than nine hours by keeping silent, Mohammed and the co-defendants — in a much-anticipated first public appearance in three years — finally deferred their pleas.
\u201cMaybe you\u2019re not going to see us any more,\u201d Binalshibh shouted out in a dramatic moment at the arraignment hearing, telling Judge James Pohl, \u201cYou are going to kill us.\u201d
Dressed in white jumpsuits, with some wearing white turbans, the men mostly refused to engage with the court officials — reading what looked to be the Koran, keeping their eyes fixed on the ground, or kneeling to pray.
The defendants also passed a copy of The Economist magazine among themselves.
\u201cAccused refused to answer,\u201d Pohl repeated over and over again.
At one point, Binalshibh suddenly stood to pray, interrupting the hearing.
He also shouted out: \u201cThe era of Qaddafi is over but you have Qaddafi in the camp … you are going to kill us and say that we are committing suicide,\u201d referring to the slain former Libyan strongman.
Only one, bin Attash, was handcuffed when the group was brought into court, but Pohl ordered the cuffs removed after being assured he would \u201cbehave appropriately.\u201d
The arraignment, one of the last steps before a so-called \u201ctrial of the century\u201d can take place, marks the second time the United States has tried to prosecute the 9\/11 suspects.
Mohammed remained calm, his long, flowing beard appearing to have been dyed with red henna.
His lawyer David Nevin said his client, who three years ago confessed to the 9\/11 attacks \u201cfrom A to Z,\u201d probably would not speak at the hearing because he is \u201cdeeply concerned by the fairness of the process.\u201d
Meanwhile, the judge, Army Colonel James Pohl, said it would be at least a year before the trial started.
Two defendants insisted that the charge sheet be read out and it took prosecutors two-and-a-half hours to read the portion describing the highjackings. But they did not read the appendix listing the names of all 2,976 people killed when the seized jetliners slammed into the twin towers of New York\u2019s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
A previous attempt to prosecute the four men in Guantanamo was halted when the Obama administration tried unsuccessfully to move the case into a New York federal court.<\/p>\n