Mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks heads for trial as the years-old case drags on with defence lawyers arguing that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other accused men were tortured by CIA into confessing to the crime
Visitors look at books about the 9/11 attacks while sitting on a bench at the September 11 Memorial and Museum on September 06, 2021 in New York City.
But after a 17-month halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, the proceedings appear likely to continue where they left off, mired in the defense's efforts to disqualify most of the government's evidence as tainted by the torture the defendants underwent in CIA custody. Asked if the case could ever reach that point, one defense attorney, James Connell, replied, "I don't know."Attorneys say the five defendants — KSB, Ammar al-Baluchi, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi — are all weak and suffer the lasting effects of severe torture endured in secretive CIA "black" sites between 2002 and 2006.
In the audience will be family members of some of the 2,976 people they are accused of murdering two decades ago, as well as a large contingent of reporters to mark the confluence with the somber anniversary on Saturday.They are represented by attorneys assigned by the military, as well as pro-bono lawyers from the private sector and non-governmental organisations.
The defendants, still feeling the impact of torture at that time, spoke to the FBI under the real fear that it would start again, the defense contends."Make no mistake, covering up torture is the reason that these men were brought to Guantanamo" instead of the US federal justice system, said Connell, who represents Baluchi.
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