GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, told the Pentagon's war-crimes court today that he wants to be put to death and become a martyr.
Mohammed also told the judge hearing the death penalty case of five accused architects of the terrorist strikes that he regarded the military proceedings against them as "an inquisition, not a trial," and that he rejected all U.S. laws as "evil."
Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, chief military judge for the tribunal, told Mohammed the charges against him could result in a death sentence if he is convicted by a panel of military officers, to which the bearded defendant known as KSM replied: "This is what I wish. I wanted to be a martyr for a long time."
Mohammed rejected representation by Navy Capt. Prescott Prince, saying he wore the uniform of his American enemies and had pledged allegiance to President Bush, "who wages systemic war against the Islamic world."
Alternating chanted Koran verses with stated English translations, Mohammed told the high-security courtroom packed with lawyers, clerks and guards that he would represent himself at a trial the prosecution proposes to start in September.
He also disputed the judge's assurances that the lawyers were provided for his benefit, saying that "after five years of torturing . . . you transfer us to Inquisition Land in Guantanamo."
Kohlmann rejected numerous appeals from the defendants' military and civilian lawyers to postpone the arraignment until they had more time to convince the men that they should accept professional counsel. Kohlmann also repeatedly interrupted capital trial lawyers David Nevin and Thomas Durkin and told them to sit down, an action Mohammed said showed the trials were designed to convict them.
"Evil laws are not the laws of God, laws allowing same-sexual marriage," he told the court. "I consider all American laws under the Constitution to be evil."
Kohlmann ordered the military attorneys to remain on the defendants' cases as standby counsel, in case the men change their mind and want advice during the proceedings. He declined to make that designation for the civilian attorneys, which means they will not be allowed to meet with the prisoners. Kohlmann said depriving the defendants of the services of the civilian attorneys would be an added inducement to their accepting military representation.
Under the John Adams Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Mohammed has been provided the services of capital case experts David Nevin and Scott McKay "to supplement the under-resourced military defense teams," the ACLU said in a statement criticizing the tribunal for ramming through the arraignments before the defendants could adequately consult with the attorneys.
"At every step of the way, these commissions have denigrated our country's historic commitment to the principle of due process and compromised America's reputation in the eyes of the world," said Anthony D. Romero, the ACLU executive director observing the proceedings here. He again appealed for moving the war-crimes trials to U.S. federal courts or military courts martial "where constitutional guarantees still apply."
Under questioning by Kohlmann as to his need for a translator, Mohammed replied that his English was "not bad," but said he wanted the help of a professional linguist because he had been mistranslated during his initial hearing last year.
"They were putting many words in my mouth," Mohammed said of the English transcript of his Combatant Status Review Tribunal in March 2007 in which he reportedly confessed to masterminding the Sept. 11 plot and personally beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
Mohammed chatted amiably with his four co-defendants before and during the arraignment, passing messages one from another at the end of each of five long defense tables where they were seated. He gave the judge a thumbs-up confirmation that his translation headset was working and unleashed several one-liners about how his translations were better than those provided by the court.
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