9/11 Defendants Appear at Guantanamo Court
Posted on Sat May 05, 2012 at 11:18:35 AM EST
Tags: Guantanamo, 911 defendants (all tags)
Today, the 5 detainees at Guantanamo charged with the September 11, 2001 attacks were brought to a courtroom at the Expeditionary Legal Complex (ELC),
They are Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.”
They are all in court now. So far, none have uttered a word. While the proceeding is called an arraignment, the defendants are not called upon to enter a plea. The judge reads them their rights, an interpreter who is not physically present interprets one line at a time, and the Court asks if they understand their rights. (The interpreter is in a different building.) So far, none of the defendants have replied to the judge's questoins, which goes on the record as "refused to answer." [More...]
These are holding cells outside the courtroom building where the detainees are kept during breaks.
As defendants are transported to and from the courtroom each day, they sometimes spend a considerable amount of time outside the courtroom during recesses or while awaiting transport. Consequently, the ELC contains holding cells that include bunks for sleeping, desks and sanitary facilities.
While the documents refer to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he has painstakingly changed each "e" to an "a" in the 123 page charging document, so I will spell his name the way he spells it: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
Media representatives are housed in tents at Camp Justice. They can view the proceedings either from behind a soundproof glass partition in the courtroom or the media center via closed circuit TV.
To prevent inadvertent disclosure of protected information, the gallery is separated from the trial area by soundproof glass, the audio feed to the spectators is delayed for 40 seconds and both the audio and video feed may be cut off if necessary.
The Government intends to try them together at a joint trial.
Based on the allegations outlined in the charge sheets, the five accused are charged with terrorism,