9/11 Mastermind to Gitmo Judge: Martyr Me

(NEWSER) - Two suspected Sept. 11 planners calmly declared their guilt today at what could be the final military tribunal session at Guantanamo Bay, the Miami Herald reports. "We are proud of 9/11," said Ramzi bin al Shibh, who announced his plan to plead guilty, the AP reports. Another of five suspects present, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, said the accused did not fear capital punishment. “We are doing jihad for the cause of God," he said. More»

Defense lawyers win access to alleged 9/11 mastermind

(NEWSER) - Federal prosecutors will give lawyers for Osama bin Laden's ex-driver access to accused 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed this weekend, ensuring that the first Guantanamo tribunal will begin Monday as scheduled, the Miami Herald reports. The judge in the case apparently forced the hand of the government lawyers prosecuting Salim Hamdan by threatening to delay the opening of the trial. More»

Capital punishment could put new burden on untested military tribunal system

(NEWSER) - US authorities are preparing to ask for the death penalty for six suspects in the 9/11 attacks who are detainees at Guantanamo. “If any case warrants it, it would be for individuals who were parties to a crime of that scale,” a Defense Department official told the New York Times yesterday. The six include Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda operative who says he masterminded the attacks. More»

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, four others charged again

(NEWSER) - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and four alleged co-conspirators face new conspiracy and murder charges filed today by US military prosecutors. All five defendants were originally charged during George W. Bush’s presidency, but those charges were dropped when President Obama attempted to move the trials into civilian court, Reuters reports. Obama announced last month that the prosecutions will be moved back to a military tribunal at Guantanamo, where the suspects are being held. Fox News notes that the move announced by the Department of Defense today paves the way for an arraignment. More»

New York trial represents proper US tradition, AG says

(NEWSER) - Confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his four co-defendants will face the death penalty, Eric Holder confirmed today, and the AG leapt to defend the decision to try them in a civilian court in New York. They will “answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood,” Holder said. “I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators.” More»