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"I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice," Obama said. (Reuters) |
WASHINGTON — The alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks will be tried in a civilian court in the United States, a move seen as a step toward fulfilling President Barack Obama’s pledge to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay.
"I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice," Obama said Friday, November 13, in Tokyo where he is on a week-long Asian tour, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Official told the Washington Post that Sheikh Mohamed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and four suspects will be tried in a civilian court in New York.
Two other Guantanamo detainees are expected to face trial before military commissions.
One of those facing a military commission is Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, accused of plotting the 2000 USS Cole bombing, The New York Times said, citing a federal law enforcement source.
An official announcement is expected to be made by Attorney General Eric Holder later Friday.
Ten detainees already face charges before the military commissions, which Obama halted as he came to power.
Three prisoners have been convicted before military commissions, but the tribunals have been widely condemned for limiting defendants' rights and attracted criticism from the US Supreme Court in a 2006 ruling that forced an overhaul of the process.
Despite the criticism, the Obama administration has indicated it will maintain the system established during former president George W. Bush's tenure.
To mollify critics, the White House and lawmakers worked together on a bill passed in late October that boosted defendants' rights.
The legislation barred the use of evidence obtained through coercion, strengthened the rules on hearsay evidence and improved defendants' access to witnesses and evidence.
Gitmo Closure
The trial of the alleged 9/11 plotters drew fire from the victims’ families.
"To allow a terrorist and a war criminal the opportunity of having US constitutional protections is a wrong thing to do and it’s never been done before," Ed Kowalski of the 9/11 Families for a Secure America Foundation told AFP.
"We feel that that's a terrible mistake.
"President Obama is wrong to do this," Kowalski said.
The transfer is seen as a bid to fulfil Obama’s pledge to close Guantanamo early next year.
"The American people will insist on it. My administration will insist on it," Obama said.
But the US president and his team are facing numerous political and diplomatic hurdles and some officials admit it may be hard to meet the deadline.
US officials meet a difficulty in pursuing charges against many of the inmates, who were subjected to harsh interrogations which human rights groups have called torture.
Among the barriers to closing Guantanamo is the deep resistance by US allies to take detainees, who have been cleared of connections to terrorism.
None of those detainees have so far transferred to the US soil.
Obama has ordered the closure of the notorious detention camp as it has tarnished the United States' reputation abroad.
The US is holding hundreds of detainees in Guantanamo and declared them as “unlawful enemy combatants” to deny them legal rights under the US legal system.
The camp has for years been criticized by international watchdogs and rights icons for operating outside the law, amid reports of torture and rights abuses.
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