Defence wants 9/11 trial televised globally from Guantanamo
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GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE (REUTERS) - The death penalty trial of five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the Sept 11 attacks is so important that it should be televised to the public, defence lawyers argued on Friday.
The issue was discussed on the final day of a week-long pretrial hearing for the alleged mastermind of the hijacked plane attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four co-defendants accused of providing money, training and travel assistance to the hijackers.
The five, who could face execution if convicted of charges that include murder and terrorism, skipped Friday's session after the judge declined their request for a recess on the Muslim holy day.
Currently the public can watch closed-circuit broadcasts of the Guantanamo war crimes court proceedings - but only at a 200-seat theatre at Fort Meade, a United States (US) Army base in Maryland.
