‘9/11 Mastermind’ Mohammed Says He Wants Death Penalty

Posted on Jun 5, 2008

AP photo / Brennan Linsley, pool

Courtroom sketch shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, right, and Waleed bin Attash, two of the accused Sept. 11 co-conspirators, at their arraignment Thursday at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Navy base in Cuba.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees appeared in court at the U.S. naval base’s Camp Justice for an arraignment that effectively sets the legal wheels in motion for the war crimes trials of Mohammed and his alleged 9/11 co-conspirators.

AP via Yahoo News:

The arraignment begins the highest-profile test yet of the military’s tribunal system, which faces an uncertain future. The Supreme Court is to rule this month on the rights of Guantanamo prisoners, potentially delaying or halting the proceedings.

It also carries some strategic risk, and the military is trying to minimize the chance that Mohammed will be able to spread al-Qaida propaganda in courtoom speeches. The judge announced a 20-second delay in the closed-circuit video feed to prevent classified information from being disclosed outside the tightly-controlled courtroom.

None of the defendants wore handcuffs during Thursday’s proceeding, but retractable leg chains hidden underneath the raised courtroom floor were available to restrain them if they become unruly.

Calmly propping his glasses on his turban to peer at legal papers, Mohammed also grinned and exchanged a few words with someone at the defense table occupied by Waleed bin Attash, who allegedly selected and trained some of the 19 hijackers who turned airplanes into missiles in the attacks.

“There is no God but him, in him I have put my trust,” Mohammed sang before [Judge Ralph] Kohlmann asked him to stop.

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