9/11 Suspects to be tried in New York

Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Gitmo detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court

Five other suspects will still face military tribunals. An Obama administration official told the associated press that United States Attorney General Eric Holder will announce the decision later today, and therefore could not discuss specifics except as an anonymous source. Having these types of suspects face trial on U.S. soil is a key move in attempting to close the prison located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Obama administration had originally planned on closing the prison by January 22nd of 2010, but roadblocks put up by members of Congress have made that deadline near impossible to meet. Moving the case to the United States is expected to pose signifigant legal challenges for whatever court hears the case, especially considering the "enhanced interrogation" techniques that were used on some of these suspects. The most severe method — waterboarding, or simulated drowning — was used on Mohammed alone 183 times in 2003, before the practice was eventually banned. Holder decided the case of the five suspects to be tried in New York should be handled by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, as this group has a history of handling major terrorism trials in the past.