9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh's trial resumes in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay after 20-years

The trial of the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks resumed once again after a series of delays, including the coronavirus pandemic. According to CNN, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, along with four other alleged 9/11 plotters, appeared in a military court for a pretrial hearing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on September 7. All five - Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi - are accused of being involved in planning and executing the 2001 attacks. If convicted, all five detainees could receive the death penalty. 

According to reports, Tuesday’s hearing is the first time the five detainees have appeared in court since February 2020. They all were dressed in culturally appropriate attire provided by their lawyers. CNN reported that Mohammed was seen wearing a Pashtun-style hat, with a white top covering his head and a navy-blue scarf braided and wrapped around his head and shoulders. Three of the detainees, on the other hand, were seen wearing headscarves, while Ali Abdul Aziz Ali wore a grey Sindhi, a hat traditional of his native Pakistani province. 

It is worth mentioning that the case has faced a series of challenges since and before the detainees were arranged at Guantanamo Bay in 2012. The most recent hiatus was caused by the ongoing pandemic and personnel changes. Now, the first week of hearings is expected to cover the issue of whether or not the prosecution or the defence team have any objection to Judge Col. Matthew N. McCall presiding over the case. The questioning of the judge by both defence and prosecution will continue on Wednesday. 

9/11 attacks 

The 9/11 terrorist attacks were one of the deadliest attacks faced by the US in its history. Over 3,000 people were killed. The terrorist group had crashed three commercial jet planes into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Centre and the Pentagon outside Washington DC. 

A fourth hijacked plane believed to be targetting the US Capitol building, however, had crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is believed to be one of the key terrorists who were behind the attack. After 9/11, the US had sent its troops to Afghanistan to kill Osama Bin Laden, who was the head of the major brains behind the deadly attacks on the US.  

(Image: Twitter/Unsplash)