Self-proclaimed al-Qaeda commander Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the reputed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, said that he welcomes the possible death sentences "as a path to martyrdom" at a military hearing, according to media reports Friday.
"This is what I wish," Mohammed, speaking in English, told a judge who warned that he might be executed if convicted. "I am looking to be martyred for a long time," Mohammed said, "If this martyrdom happens today, I welcome it. God is great. God is great. God is great."
Mohammed and his four codefendants rejected representation by the military and civilian lawyers assigned to defend them at a military hearing on the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen in this March 1, 2003 file photograph. The Pentagon on February 11, 2008 charged the alleged planner of the September 11 attacks, Mohammed, and five others with murder and conspiracy and asked that they be executed if convicted. Thursday's appearance was their first before a military commission set up to try the accused terrorists.
The arraignment is the highest-profile test yet of the military's tribunal system, which faces an uncertain future. It also threatens to expose harsh interrogation techniques used on the men, who were in CIA custody before being transferred to Guantanamo in 2006.
Mohammed said he was tortured after being captured in Pakistan in 2003 but didn't elaborate, indicating he understood he should not discuss it in the courtroom.
Mohammed is the most valuable al-Qaida official in U.S. custody and the central figure in a trial that will put the Pentagon's military tribunals under an intense spotlight.
The other defendants are Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew and lieutenant of Mohammed; Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, a Saudi who allegedly helped finance the hijackers; and Waleed bin Attash, who allegedly selected and trained some of the hijackers.
Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, the court's chief legal adviser, said officials are pushing for a September trial. However, officials familiar with the process expect long delays and much legal fighting. They say a trial is probably at least many months away.
Source:Xinhua
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