Accused 9-11 Attackers Skip Court; Lawyers Seek Jail
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The five men accused of directing the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks chose not to appear in a military courtroom in Cuba as defense lawyers asked to spend two nights in their clients’ high-security prison.
As proceedings began in the second day of pre-trial hearings at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, the chairs for the five defendants, including accused ringleader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, remained empty. A military officer told the judge presiding over the tribunal that he went to Mohammed’s cell at 5:03 a.m. yesterday and asked if he wanted to attend.