The 9/11 Prosecutor's Quest for Transparency

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Der Spiegel:

 

10/23/2012 23.10.2012

 

Detox Man versus KSM The 9/11 Prosecutor's Quest for Transparency

 

 

By Matthias Gebauer

 

 

AP

Pre-trial hearings in the prosecution of 9/11 mastermand Khalid Sheikh Mohammed began last week at the US base at Guantanamo. Chief Prosecutor Mark Martins hopes to create as fair a trial as possible, despite the death penalty being almost a foregone conclusion. But the challenges are daunting and the American government is making his task difficult.

 

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed achieved a first minor victory at 9:46 on Wednesday morning. Three muscular US soldiers, all inexplicably wearing blue latex gloves, led the defendant into air-conditioned Courtroom 2 on the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Surrounded by the soldiers, Mohammed, the chief planner of the 9/11 attacks, looked almost like a dwarf.

 

The defendant took his time. It's a moment he had long been waiting for. Slowly, he sat down on a low leather chair in the first of the five rows of the dock. Then he turned to face the visitors' gallery behind him, a gentle smile on his face.

 

The scene could only be interpreted to mean that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, widely known simply by his initials KSM, wants to be seen. The trial is his last propaganda campaign, he leaves no doubt of that. On that morning in court, the man the New York Post called the "9/11 beast" was