Los Angeles Times ^ | May 5, 2012, 10:14 a.m. | Richard A. Serrano
The arraignment of accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four top Al Qaeda lieutenants opened Saturday in a heavily guarded island courtroom with the so-called “Gitmo 5” launching a silent protest, refusing to cooperate, listen to translations or even answer fundamental questions about a process that could end their lives.
The long-awaited trial began with defense lawyers speaking for the alleged terrorists and arguing that the protest was over their clients’ anger about alleged CIA torture and mistreatment at the prison on the southern rim of Cuba. …
(Updated at 10:14 a.m., May 5:) Three hours into the hearing, one defendant wore down and angrily waved his finger at the judge. “Maybe you aren’t going to see me anymore,” warned Ramzi Binalshibh, who allegedly oversaw the terror cell for three of the Sept. 11 pilots. “It’s about the treatment we have received at the camps. You want to kill us.” …
The fact that the trial is now underway encouraged backers of a military tribunal—finally, some form of legal process has begun.
But for President Obama, who in 2008 promised to close the detainee prison and hold the trials in the U.S. yet did neither, the trial starkly reminds his supporters of his failure to change the system. …
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