By IANS
Washington : The US defence department is seeking the death penalty for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Pakistani mastermind of the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks, and for five others.
Better known as KSM, Mohammed has said he planned every aspect of the Sep 11 attacks on the US when four hijacked passenger planes slammed into New York’s World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
The charges of murder and conspiracy against the six are the first from the Guantanamo war court, but use of his confession as evidence may pose a problem for the prosecutors because the CIA has admitted it subjected him to “water boarding”, an interrogation technique of simulated drowning.
The technique has been widely criticised as torture. But Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, a legal adviser at the Guantanamo prison camp, would not rule out the use of evidence gathered during the CIA interrogation of Mohammed.
“The question of what evidence will be admitted, whether (involving) water boarding or otherwise, will be decided in the court,” he said.
The White House had no role in deciding who would be prosecuted or to seek the death penalty, spokesperson Dana Perino said.
“Obviously 9/11 was a defining moment in our history and a defining moment in the global war on terror, and this judicial process is the next step in that story of our history on this issue,” she said.
Besides Mohammed, those charged are: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarek bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi and Mohamed al-Kahtani.
All six are being charged with conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians and civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, terrorism and providing material support for terrorism.
Mohammed, bin Attash, Binalshibh, and Aziz Ali also are charged with the substantive offence of hijacking or hazarding a vessel.
“These charges allege a long-term, highly sophisticated, organised plan by Al Qaeda to attack the United States,” Hartman said.
Hartmann gave no possible timeline for the trials, but said that if a Pentagon appointed prosecuting authority does refer the cases to trial, the military commission will have 30 days to arraign the accused detainees and 120 days to start the trial.
The charge sheet details 169 overt acts allegedly committed by the defendants in the planning and execution of the Sep 11 events.
The charges allege that:
– Mohammed was the mastermind of the Sep 11 attacks by proposing the operational concept to Osama bin Laden as early as 1996, obtaining approval and funding from bin Laden for the attacks, overseeing the entire operation, and training the hijackers in all aspects of the operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
– Bin Attash administered an Al Qaeda training camp in Logar, Afghanistan, where two of the 19 Sep 11 hijackers were trained. He is also alleged to have travelled to Malaysia in 1999 to observe airport security by US air carriers to assist in formulating the hijacking plan.
– Binalshibh lived in the Al Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, where three of the Sep 11 hijackers resided. It is alleged that Binalshibh was originally selected by bin Laden to be one of the Sep 11 hijackers and that he made a “martyr video” in preparation for the operation.
He was unable to obtain a US visa and, therefore, could not enter the US as the other hijackers did. In light of this, it is alleged that Binalshibh assisted in finding flight schools for the hijackers in the US and continued to assist the conspiracy by engaging in numerous financial transactions in support of the Sep 11 operation.
– Aziz Ali’s role included sending about $120,000 to the hijackers for their expenses and flight training and facilitating travel to the US States for nine of the hijackers.
– Al-Hawsawi assisted and prepared the hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveller’s cheques and credit cards. He is also alleged to have facilitated the transfer of thousands of dollars between the accounts of alleged Sep 11 hijackers and himself on Sep 11, 2001.
– Al-Kahtani attempted to enter the US on Aug 4, 2001, through the international airport at Orlando, Florida, where he was denied entry. It is also alleged that Kahtani carried $2,800 in cash and had an itinerary listing a phone number associated with Hawsawi.