9-11 suspects to be tried in federal court (3rd Lead)

Nov 13, 2009, 15:52 GMT

Washington - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the admitted mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and four other suspects will be tried in a federal court in New York, the Justice Department announced Friday.

The decision is a key part of the Obama administration's plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. The White House, however, is not expected to meet a January 22 deadline for shuttering the controversial facility.

The five men were originally charged under the Guantanamo military commissions established under George W Bush. President Barack Obama put those proceedings on hold after taking office as he launched a comprehensive review on options for closing Guantanamo.

Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that he will direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against all of the September 11 defendants. The proceedings will take place in a federal courthouse in Manhattan just blocks away from the World Trade Center, which was destroyed when two hijacked plans slammed into the twin towers.

One other plane struck the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 2,973 people.

'After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks on September 11 will finally face justice,' Holder said.

Overseas in Japan, Obama said the decision to shift the trial to New York was based on how best to prosecute the five individuals.

'I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice,' he said. 'The American people will insist on it and my administration will insist on it.'

The other alleged plotters are Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali.

Holder also announced the five other Guantanamo detainees will be tried in revised versions of the military commissions. Among them is Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a major suspect in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in a Yemeni port that killed 17 US sailors.

In determining how to hold the trials, the Justice Department distinguished between the location of the attacks and the targets, Holder said. Additional announcements in other cases will be made in the near future, he added.

'It is important that we be able to use every forum possible to hold terrorists accountable for their actions,' Holder said.

By bringing Mohammed and the other co-conspirators to trial in federal courts, the Obama administration has granted them greater rights to defend themselves.

But it also brings some potential headaches for Obama and the federal court system regarding any evidence that might have been gathered against the suspects through harsh interrogations and possible torture. The Justice Department has acknowledged that Mohammed was waterboarded numerous times while in captivity.

It could also pose political problems for Obama, who has faced congressional opposition to transferring any of the detainees to US soil. Holder said the Justice Department will comply with congressional legislation that requires a 45-day notice before any Guantanamo detainees can be brought into the United States. He added that the transfers will not be made until security conditions are established.