Five men accused of the Sept. 11 attacks will be tried in a New York civilian court, attorney general Eric Holder said Friday adding the U.S. would press for maximum sentences including the death penalty.
Five other inmates held at the Guantanamo Bay jail would face military commissions, Holder said, referring to the system of tribunals set up under the previous administration, the first major step in moves to close the controversial prison.
"Today I am announcing that the Department of Justice will pursue prosecution in federal court of the five individuals accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 attacks," he said, adding he had reviewed every case.
I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it. My administration will insist on it
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other men accused of the attacks were being prosecuted in military commissions at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, but U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to close the prison by mid-January and move some cases to U.S. criminal courts.
"I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it. My administration will insist on it," Obama said in Tokyo during a trip through Asia.
Civil rights advocates hailed the decision to move some of the cases to traditional U.S. criminal courts, but Republicans blasted the Obama administration for bringing terrorism suspects to the U.S. soil, arguing it could spark new attacks.
Five other Guantanamo prisoners, including the alleged mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole warship in Yemen, Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri, and a young Canadian accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, will be tried in revamped military commissions.
It will likely be a daunting task to put the men on trial in New York, where the World Trade Center twin towers were felled by hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001. Almost 3,000 people were killed in the attacks that day.
"I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200 years," Holder told reporters. "The alleged 9/11 conspirators will stand trial in our justice system before an impartial jury under long-established rules and procedures."
The decisions about the 10 terrorism suspects came as Obama's top lawyer, Gregory Craig, who was charged with leading the White House's troubled effort to close Guantanamo, announced his resignation on Friday.
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