Death penalty sought for six 9/11 accused

“These charges allege a long-term, highly sophisticated, organised plan by Al-Qaeda to attack the United States of America,” Brigadier General Thomas Hartman, the Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority in the Pentagon’s Office of Military Commissions, said.

Gen Hartman said it was a long way to go to even talking about whether anyone condemned to die will have the sentence carried out in the Guantanamo Bay facility itself or brought to the United States.

The six accused are: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed

Adam al-Hawsawi, and Mohammed al-Qahtani.

It has been said that the chief prosecutor has requested that the charges be tried jointly and that they be referred as capital for each defendant and if the convening authority, Susan Crawford, in her sole discretion decides to refer the cases as capital, the defendants will face the possibility of being sentenced to death.

Each of the defendants is charged under the Military Commission Act with the conspiracy and murder “in violation of the law of war”, attacking civilians and civilian targets, terrorism and support of terrorism.