Khalid Shiekh Mohammad who is considered to be the alleged mastermind, and the other five: Waleed bin Attash, who investigators say had selected and trained some of the hijackers that played a role in 9/11; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali also known as Ammar al-Baluchi who is the nephew and lieutenant of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad; Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawa, the one who is said to assist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali; and Mohammed al-Qahtani, who have been labeled as the 20th hijacker by officials all have been charged by the Pentagon for the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001.
The verdict was announced on Monday, February 11. The six were detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. All six of them are charged with murder and war crimes connected to the September 11 attacks.
Officials are also going to seek the death penalty on all six charged. On a historical note, this will be the first set of trials that are under the military tribunal system that is under the terrorism-era.
“These charges allege a long term, highly sophisticated, organized plan by al-Qaeda to attack the United States of America,” according to the tribunal system’s legal adviser, Brigadier General Thomas W. Hartmann. Hartmann included by saying that the charges have been sworn in on the six men.
According to Dana Perino, the current White House Press Secretary, US President George W. Bush did not have anything to do in the decision to seek the death penalty for all six men charged with the September 11 attacks.
However, while the six have been charged, the trials probably will not begin for months to at least a year. Convictions and executions will probably take longer because of the process of filing appeals. While the six are charged, the trials have not started yet.
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