Officials Believe KSM Intimidated Others
The chiefs of defense
and prosecution offered different views of the day's results to
reporters Thursday, after five accused terrorists heard the charges
filed against them for their alleged role in the September 11, 2001
attacks on America at an arraignment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
As ANN reported, the judge,
Marine Col. Ralph H. Kohlmann, informed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,
Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali
Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi of the nature of
the charges filed against them, which include terrorism,
conspiracy, hijacking and murder. Each defendant was served nine
referred charges, including two specifications of one of the
charges, on May 21.
All five defendants rejected court-appointed defense counsel and
elect to represent themselves before the day-long hearing was over.
US officials say Kohlmann had tried in vain to convince each of the
five defendants that it would be wiser to retain professional
counsel, rather than electing to represent themselves during a
trial that's expected to begin in mid-September.
Army Col. Steven David, the chief defense counsel, told
reporters at a post-arraignment news conference that four of the
defendants may have been influenced by Mohammed, the alleged
mastermind of the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000
Americans.
It's universally understood in the legal community that
defendants are not helping their cases when they choose to
represent themselves in a court of law, David pointed out to
reporters.
Mohammed (shown below, right) was the first of the group to be
addressed by Kohlmann at the arraignment, and the accused terrorist
also was first to opt to reject his court-appointed lawyers and
choose to represent himself. In court, Mohammed was overheard to
have exclaimed to fellow defendant Hawsawi: "What! Are you in the
American Army now?" said Army Maj. Jon Jackson, one of Hawsawi's
court-appointed military attorneys.
Jackson told reporters
it appeared as if Mohammed had intimidated Hawsawi, the last of the
defendants to be arraigned. As the day wore on, it seemed as if the
defendants who followed Mohammed marched in lockstep with him, as
each chose to be his own attorney at trial. The five men are to be
tried jointly, just as they appeared at today's hearing.
Chief prosecutor Army Col. Lawrence Morris emphasized to
reporters that the government has to respect the defendants'
decision to represent themselves in court.
Morris reminded reporters that the five defendants now in US
custody are the people "most responsible for the murder of 2,973
individuals."
Nineteen people in US custody have been charged with crimes
under the Military Commissions Act, Morris noted. Thursday's
arraignment was conducted under the auspices of the act.
The Military Commissions Act established procedures governing
the use of military commissions to try alien unlawful enemy
combatants engaged in hostilities against the United States for
violations of the law of war and other offenses that can be tried
by military commission, according to a military commissions fact
sheet.
The chief prosecutor expressed his confidence in the fitness of
the military commissions system as a means to dispense justice.
"As you continue to see, the military commissions process is an
orderly, fair, open legal system, remarkably similar to other
trials in United States courts," Morris said. "The prosecution team
will continue to work diligently to bring all cases to trial in a
fair and expeditious manner, consistent with the best practices in
both civilian and military courts."
(Aero-News thanks Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press
Service)