Washington, November 14: More than eight years after two hijacked planes smashed into the Twin Towers of lower Manhattan killing thousands and sparking foreign wars, five men accused of helping to plot the carnage are to be brought to face trial in a civilian courthouse just a few blocks away from Ground Zero.
The defendants, who include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-declared mastermind of the al-Qa’ida attacks of 2001, will be transferred, possibly in a matter of weeks, to New York City from the fortified US military camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they are currently being held.
The decision, announced yesterday by the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, is central to the efforts of President Barack Obama to fulfil the promise he made on taking office to close Guantanamo Bay, although US officials now concede that the original deadline of 22 January next year might not be met.
–Agencies