A long-delayed trial for five alleged 9/11 plotters was set to begin in January at Guantanamo Bay, but the coronavirus pandemic has forced a postponement for a few months, if not longer, the Washington Examiner reported Friday.
The case’s progress against the al-Qaeda terrorists came to a near halt due to COVID-19 travel and quarantine restrictions on the Caribbean island, the news outlet reported.
The war court permits the accused men to meet with their lawyers only face to face and not by phone or video conference. No hearings have been held since late February, the Examiner reported. The trial was supposed to begin Jan. 11, 2021.
But pandemic-caused delays raise the question of whether jury selection will even begin before Sept. 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of the devastating strikes on the World Trade Center buildings, Shanksville Pa., and the Pentagon, the Examiner reported.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, described as “the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks” in the 9/11 Commission Report, was a close ally of Osama bin Laden and will be on trial alongside his nephew, Ammar al Baluchi, alleged hijacking trainer Walid bin Attash, facilitator Ramzi bin al Shibh, and al-Qaeda money man Mustafa al Hawsawi.
The judge in the case, Army Col. Douglas Watkins, noting the delays caused by the pandemic, canceled scheduled hearings for September, though set them to begin again in late October, the Examiner reported.
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