9/11 Defendants’ Hearing Was Rigged, Lawyers Say

Source: New York Times

Lawyers for five men charged before a military commission with conspiring in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, complained on Sunday that the process was rigged to lead to the execution of their clients, and they offered new details and explanations for a sometimes chaotic daylong arraignment on Saturday.

Throughout the arraignment, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the other four defendants refused to talk to — or even listen to — the judge. Several delayed the hearing by praying, and one shouted to the judge that guards at the prison might kill them. Another was brought to the court in restraints and later took off his shirt, before insisting that the full charges be read aloud, which lasted into the night.

One of the lawyers, James G. Connell III, who represents Ali Abd al Aziz Ali, said at a news conference on Sunday that the defendants’ refusal to acknowledge the judge was a “peaceful resistance to an unjust system.”

While Mr. Connell was prohibited from relaying anything his client had told him, he said, the defendants’ actions “appeared to be a coordinated strategy.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/us/lawyers-say-hearing-for-9-11-defendants-was-rigged.html?pagewanted=all

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Reuters reported: "An attorney for bin Attash, Cheryl Borman, who wore a black hijab and long black robe, told the court that mistreatment of her client at Guantanamo had interfered with his ability to take part in the proceedings. She asked that female paralegals and FBI agents sitting with the prosecution team dress with cultural sensitivity so that the defendants would not be forced to look away as their religion requires. The women in question were wearing pantsuits and knee-length skirts and blazers."