The judge, Army Colonel Stephen Henley, asked Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (right) and his co-defendants if they were prepared to enter a plea. So far, Khalid and three others said they agreed with the letter; the fifth remained to be questioned by the judge. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
GUANTANAMO BAY (Cuba) - THE self-styled mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks and four co-defendants yesterday told a military judge that they wanted to confess immediately, setting up likely guilty pleas and their possible executions.
The five said they decided to abandon all efforts to defend themselves against the capital charges on Nov 4, the day Mr Barack Obama was elected to the White House.
Several of the defendants had said at previous hearings that they welcomed martyrdom, and with Mr Obama's pledge to end the war-crimes trials and close Guantanamo, they may have felt that opportunity slipping away.
Abruptly reversing course on previous attempts to defend themselves in the death-penalty case, the five announced that they wanted to drop all motions presented on their behalf. The judge said competency hearings were pending for two of the detainees, precluding them from immediately filing pleas.
In a letter the judge read aloud in court, the five defendants said they 'request an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions'. The letter implies they want to plead guilty, but does not specify whether they will admit to any specific charges.
The judge, Army Colonel Stephen Henley, asked Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants if they were prepared to enter a plea. So far, Khalid and three others said they agreed with the letter; the fifth remained to be questioned by the judge.
Khalid, who has already told interrogators that he was the Sept 11 mastermind, also told the judge that he had no faith in him, his Pentagon-appointed lawyers or President George W. Bush.
Sporting a chest-length grey beard, he said in English: 'I don't trust you.'
Nine relatives of victims of the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks were on hand to observe the hearings, after five were chosen by military lottery, and they were accompanied by four other relatives.
Col Henley was assigned to the case after the previous judge resigned for undisclosed reasons last month.
The defendants, who are representing themselves, were also expected to question Col Henley about whether any conflicts would prevent him from impartially overseeing the case.
No trial date has been set, and it is all but certain none will begin before Mr Obama takes office on Jan 20.
Still, the US military is pressing forward with the case until it receives orders to the contrary. 'We serve the sitting president and will continue to do so until President-elect Obama takes office,' said Pentagon spokesman Jeffrey Gordon.
