Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
9/11 suspects ask to confess but postpone pleas
AFP - 1 hour 59 minutes ago
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (AFP) - - Self-proclaimed architect of the September 11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants said Monday they would confess to terror charges that could bring the death penalty but postponed their guilty pleas.
"The accused in this case had decided that they wished to withdraw all motions ... and wished to enter pleas in what was termed as confessions in this case," said Army Colonel Stephen Henley, the judge of the military tribunal at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in pre-trial proceedings.
He also read out a letter submitted by the defendants indicating that they wanted to dismiss their tribunal-appointed attorneys, scrap pre-trial motions and plead guilty to the terror charges.
But after a recess, Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants changed plans, saying they were postponing their guilty pleas pending mental evaluations of the two other defendants, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
Walid bin Attash and Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali said the "plea request is based on joint strategy" during the fourth appearance by the 9/11 plotters at the military tribunal.
The three indicated they intended to plead guilty but only after it was clear whether the two other defendants can also sack their lawyers, withdraw their motions and plead guilty.
The judge had allowed Sheikh Mohammed, bin Attash and Ali to withdraw all their motions and go to pleas, but he refused to allow the same for two other defendants on concerns they were not mentally competent.
In submitting guilty pleas, the five plotters would abandon all defenses against capital punishment before president-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20.
During his June 5 arraignment, Sheikh Mohammed said he welcomed martyrdom.
On the eve of the Monday hearing, Alice Hoagland -- whose son Mark Bingham died in the attacks when he fought United Airways Flight 93 hijackers -- said she opposed the death penalty for Sheikh Mohammed. "I can't think of anybody who less deserves martyrdom," she said.
With the judge postponing argument on the case's motions, it is unlikely that pleas would entered this week, and may not be heard until next year.
"We don't want to waste time," Sheikh Mohammed earlier told the judge in English. He appeared before the court dressed in white and wearing a white turban, with a long gray and black beard.
"I do not distinguish between the judge and my attorney and (US President George W.) Bush and the CIA who tortured me," said Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and handed over to US agents who held him in secret prisons for more than three years before sending him to Guantanamo Bay.
The CIA has admitted that agents subjected Sheikh Mohammed to harsh treatment, including "waterboarding," or simulated drowning, in order to draw a confession while he was held at a secret prison overseas.
For the first time since the Guantanamo trials began, relatives of the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington that killed 2,973 people watched the tribunal proceedings.
Hoagland said she was "really proud that the commission is proceeding in its slow and thoughtful and deliberate way."
"I've had quite a long time to think about this moment and I'm not surprised to see how hostile they are," she said.
Human rights groups were quick to criticize the proceedings.
"What should have been a major victory in holding the 9/11 defendants accountable for terrible crimes has been tainted by torture and an unfair military commissions process," said Human Rights Watch official Jennifer Daskal.
"Anyone who believes that this is a victory for American justice is sadly mistaken," American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero said.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: World
Suspicious letters sent to at least 6 governorsAP - 24 minutes ago
Biographical sketches of 5 Blackwater guardsAP - 32 minutes ago
Democrats propose 15 billion dollar auto industry bailoutAFP - 42 minutes ago
Family fears they'll lose 'Extreme Makeover' homeAP - 44 minutes ago
Ohio officials: Fire that killed 5 was an accidentAP - 45 minutes ago
Enlarge Photo
Al-Qaeda militant Khalid Sheikh Mohammed shortly after his arrest in 2003. Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants said Monday they would confess to terror charges that could bring the death penalty but postponed their guilty pleas.
Most Popular – World
Viewed
Financial crisis tipped to cut cost of air travel
Climate change: Sci-fi solutions no longer in the margins
Oil price falls below $40
Stocks take flight on prospects for anti-recession moves
Vinnie Jones gets into bar fight over role in X-Men
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular