Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind seen here shortly after his capture in 2001, told a U.S. military court on June 5, 2008 in Guantanamo Bay, that he wishes for the death penalty so that he can become a martyr. Mohammed and four accused co-conspirators appeared in court at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba for the first time on charges that could result in their execution. (UPI Photo/Handout) |
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Five men, including one who claims to have been the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, will stand trial in U.S. civilian courts.
The U.S. Department of Justice has scheduled a news conference for Friday to announce the decision to try terror suspects detained at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. President Barack Obama, at a Tokyo news conference, said he didn't want to comment on the decision and would leave it to Attorney General Eric Holder to announce the plan formally in Washington.
Among those to be moved to the U.S. mainland for trial in a federal court is Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who has claimed he was behind the hijackings of four jetliners on Sept. 11, 2001, in which nearly 3,000 people died, The Washington Post said Friday.
The newspaper also said the men believed to have planned the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in which 17 U.S. sailors died, would stand trial before a military commission.
The Post said as many as 40 prisoners at Guantanamo would face trial in courtrooms on the U.S. mainland.
