Road accident deaths drop by 50% in Saudi Arabia    SR 3.95 million fines for 3 employees of a company and 6-month jail for one for violating Capital Market Law    Qassim emir launches 52 health projects costing a total of SR456 million    BD and INS partner to elevate standards of infusion care in MENAT    Dubai Design Week launches its 10th edition, celebrating creativity and innovation    GASTAT: Passengers of public transport bus and train soar 176% and 33% respectively in 2023    Fakeeh Care Group reports 9M-2024 net profit of SR195.3 million, up 49% y-o-y driven by solid revenue growth and robust profitability    Italy's 'Libra' to arrive in Albania with just eight migrants on board    South Africa shuts border crossing with Mozambique over poll unrest    French families sue TikTok over harmful content that allegedly led to suicides    Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power    HRT does not impact life expectancy — UK health body    Liam Payne's body to be flown back to the UK    Suspect arrested for banking fraud totaling SR493 million as Nazaha pursues corruption charges    Arab leaders and heads of state congratulate US President-elect Donald Trump    Neymar suffers muscle tear, out for 4-6 weeks    Crown Prince hails Saudi medical team that performed world's first fully robotic heart transplant    Al Nassr secures 5-1 victory over Al Ain to edge closer to knockout stage    Al Ahli extends perfect start with 5-1 victory over Al Shorta    Mitrovic's hat-trick leads Al Hilal to 3-0 victory over Esteghlal    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



9/11 suspects to face military tribunal
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 05 - 04 - 2011

At left a March 1, 2003, photo shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed shortly after his capture in Pakistan. At right, a photo downloaded from a website and purporting to show a man identified as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. (AP)
WASHINGTON: In a major about-face, the Obama administration said Monday that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators will be tried by a military tribunal at Guantanamo rather than a civilian court in New York.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced the U-turn, saying that the accused 9/11 plotters could have been successfully prosecuted in a federal court, but blamed Congress for approving restrictions blocking trials of Guantanamo inmates in the United States. “So today I am referring the cases of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al-Hawsawi to the Department of Defense to proceed in military commissions,” he said.
Holder said President Barack Obama's administration had to “face a simple truth” that the congressional restrictions against trials in the United States were “unlikely to be repealed in the immediate future.
“And we simply cannot allow a trial to be delayed any longer for the victims of the 9/11 attacks or for their family members who have waited for nearly a decade for justice,” he said.
Obama has vowed to close Guantanamo, having held it up as a symbol of all that was wrong with the so-called “war on terror” waged by his predecessor George W. Bush.
The move, which was sure to disappoint some of Obama's left-leaning supporters, came the same day the president announced plans to stand for re-election next year.
It also followed a decision earlier Monday by the US Supreme Court to reject three appeals by Guantanamo detainees protesting their indefinite detention. The inmates had argued that their detentions violated international law and that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence against them. No date has been set yet for the high-profile trials of Sheikh Mohammed and the four other alleged Al-Qaeda figures, but the decision to try them at the US naval base in southeastern Cuba provided the latest evidence the detention center will stay open for some time.
In one of his first acts as president in 2009, Obama halted trials at Guantanamo and announced he would close the controversial detention camp within a year. But he has been thwarted in his ambition by legal complications and strong opposition from both friends and foes in Congress.
“For the sake of the safety and security of the American people, I'm glad the president reconsidered his position on how and where to try these detainees,” said Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the US Senate.
But Holder criticized politicians for calling into question the effectiveness of civilian courts. “Too many people — many of whom certainly know better — have expressed doubts about our time-honored and time-tested system of justice,” said a somber-faced Holder.
Obama's position softened last month when he lifted a two-year freeze on new military trials for Guantanamo terror suspects, paving the way for Monday's decision.
Known in counter-terrorism circles as “KSM,” Shiekh Mohammed is the self-proclaimed architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and a host of other anti-Western plots.
His trial likely will face questions about evidence obtained from harsh interrogations carried out by US agents, which may have been a factor in the government's decision to shift the case to a military commission that operates under more lenient rules for the prosecution. He is known to have been “waterboarded” or subjected to simulated drowning 183 times during his years in US custody, a method widely recognized as torture.
In addition to felling the twin towers, KSM claims to have personally beheaded US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 with his “blessed right hand” and to have helped in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people.
– Agence France


Clic here to read the story from its source.