Guantanamo Bay : Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, which is claimed to be the mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks repeatedly declined to answer a judge’s questions on Saturday and his co-defendants knelt in prayer in what appeared to be a concerted protest against the military proceedings.
Sheikh Khalid Mohammed and his co-defendants took off the earphones that provided Arabic translations and refused to answer any questions from the judge, Army Col James Pohl, dramatically slowing a hearing that is heavy on military legal procedure.
Prisoner Walid bin Attash was put in a restraint chair for unspecified reasons and then removed from it after he agreed to behave properly; and lawyers for all defendants complained that the prisoners were prevented from wearing the civilian clothes of their choice.
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| Khalid Muhammad Sheikh |
Col Pohl warned he would not permit defendants to block the hearing and would continue without his participation.
“One cannot choose not to participate and frustrate the normal course of business,” Pohl said.
Addressing the earpiece issue Pohl asked the court to bring the translators into the courtroom to translate out loud and attempted to stick to the standard script for tribunals.
When asked if they understood their rights to counsel and would accept the attorneys appointed for them.
The defendants did not respond, and not even acknowledged that they understood the questions.
Through out the session, the defendants seemed to be trying to give the impression that they were in a different world from the rest of the court.
The Current trial raises many questions about its fairness as it is tried by military and the accused are interrogated through water boarding, only Khalid Mehmood Sheikh is said to be interrogated through water boarding about 130 times.
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