A U.S. military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled that one of the five alleged September 11 plotters, Yemeni Ramzi Binalshibh, should be tried separately.
Col. James Pohl said it was first necessary to establish whether Binalshibh -- alleged to have served as a liaison between the hijackers and Al-Qaida leaders -- had the mental capacity to take part in the trial given a 2008 diagnosis by military doctors that he had a "serious mental disease," according to Pohl's order published by the Washington Post.
Pohl separated Binalshibh's case from the others to avoid further delaying a trial that, 13 years after the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks, still hasn't started.
Military prosecutor Mark Martins has expressed hope that jury selection could start in January 2015. But according to lawyers involved in the matter, that is unlikely to happen before autumn of next year.
In light of Pohl's ruling, only four of the accused -- including self-proclaimed Pakistani mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- will likely be present at the next preliminary hearings scheduled to take place at Guantanamo between August 11 to 15. All could face the death penalty if convicted.
"The government is analyzing the Military Commission severance order and remains on-track for previously scheduled hearings in August," Myles Caggins, a Pentagon spokesman, told AFP.
Col. James Pohl said it was first necessary to establish whether Binalshibh -- alleged to have served as a liaison between the hijackers and Al-Qaida leaders -- had the mental capacity to take part in the trial given a 2008 diagnosis by military doctors that he had a "serious mental disease," according to Pohl's order published by the Washington Post.
Pohl separated Binalshibh's case from the others to avoid further delaying a trial that, 13 years after the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks, still hasn't started.
Military prosecutor Mark Martins has expressed hope that jury selection could start in January 2015. But according to lawyers involved in the matter, that is unlikely to happen before autumn of next year.
In light of Pohl's ruling, only four of the accused -- including self-proclaimed Pakistani mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- will likely be present at the next preliminary hearings scheduled to take place at Guantanamo between August 11 to 15. All could face the death penalty if convicted.
"The government is analyzing the Military Commission severance order and remains on-track for previously scheduled hearings in August," Myles Caggins, a Pentagon spokesman, told AFP.
