In court with “9/11 mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Sitting in the front row of a military court at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the world’s most notorious defendants, appeared to be listening intently.

“Can you confirm that Mr. Mohammed pleads guilty to all counts and specifications without exception or substitution?” the judge asked his lawyer as Mohammed watched.

“Yes, we can, your honor,” replied the lawyer.

Sitting in court, 59-year-old Mohammed, with a bright orange beard, hat, tunic and trousers, looked little like the photo spread soon after its capture in 2003.

Mohammed, accused of masterminding the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, was due to plead guilty this week – more than 23 years after nearly 3,000 people were killed in what the US government called “the world’s most egregious crime “. American Land in Modern History’.

But two days later, when Mohammed was scheduled to formally enter his decision — the result of a controversial deal he struck with U.S. state prosecutors — he instead watched silently as a judge said the proceedings had been stayed under federal appeals rulings. court

It was expected to be a landmark week for the case, which has faced a decade of delays. Now, with new complications, it continues into the uncertain future.

“It will be an eternal trial,” said a relative of one of the 9/11 victims.

Mohammed previously said that he planned “Operation 9/11 A to Z” – he planned to train pilots to fly commercial planes into buildings and passed those plans to Osama bin Laden, the leader of the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda.

But he could not yet officially admit his guilt in court. This week’s pause comes amid controversy over a deal reached last year between US prosecutors and his legal team under which Mohammed would not face the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea.

The US government has several months tried to cancel the agreementsaying that allowing the deal would cause “irreparable” harm to both her and the American public. Those who support the deal see it as the only way forward in a case that has been complicated by the torture Mohammed and others have faced in US custody and questions about whether it taints evidence.

After a last-minute appeal by prosecutors, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court called for an adjournment to give them time to consider the arguments before they rule.

But families of the victims were already flying once a week to the base to watch the proceedings in an observation gallery where thick glass separated them and members of the press from the rest of the sprawling, high-security courtroom.

Participants won their place this week through a lottery. They arranged for childcare and paid for kennels for their pets – knowing they could be recalled at any minute. They learned Thursday night while speaking to the media at a hotel on the base that the requests would no longer be honored.

Elizabeth Miller, whose father, New York City firefighter Douglas Miller, was killed in a terrorist attack when she was six, said she is in favor of seeing the deal through, but acknowledged there are other families who felt it was too indulgent.

“What’s so frustrating is that every time it goes back and forth, every camp has hopes up and then they’re dashed again,” she said, as other relatives nodded in agreement.

“It’s like an eternal limbo… It’s like a constant whiplash.”

This week’s pause is just the latest in a series of delays, complications and disputes at the base, where the US military has held detainees for 23 years.

The military prison at Guantanamo Bay was established during the “war on terror” that followed the 9/11 attacks that Mohammed is accused of orchestrating. The first detainees were brought there on January 11, 2002.

Then-President George W. Bush issued a military order to establish military tribunals to try non-US citizens, saying they could be held without charge indefinitely and could not legally challenge their detention.

Dressed in bright orange jumpsuits, the 20 men were taken to a temporary detention camp called Roentgen, where the cells had open cages and mats on the beds.

The camp, surrounded by barbed wire, is now long abandoned and overgrown – weeds grow on wooden watchtowers and signs along the fence read “no entry” in red text.

Although conditions at Guantanamo Bay have improved, it continues to face criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups for its treatment of prisoners. And it continues to challenge American officials and advocates who hope to see it shut down.

As president, Barack Obama promised to close the prison during his term, saying it was against US values. That effort was revived under the Biden administration.

Unlike Mohammed, most of the people held there since its inception have never been charged with any crimes.

The current detention centers are off-limits to journalists, access to them is allowed only to persons who have access.

Within a short drive there is an Irish pub, a McDonald’s, a bowling alley and a museum that caters to the military and contractors on the base – most of whom have never been to the prison area.

As groups of lawyers, journalists and families gathered at the base for Mohammed’s planned pleas, a secret operation was carried out early in the morning to remove a group of 11 Yemeni detainees from the base for resettlement in Oman.

After the transfer, the base, which once held nearly 800 detainees, now holds just 15, the lowest number on record.

Of those who remain, all but six have been charged with or convicted of war crimes, and lawyers argue their cases in complex legal battles in the high-security base’s courtrooms.

When the court adjourned on Friday, the judge said Mohammed’s pleas, if granted, would now be considered by the next US administration.