Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - The military tribunal of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants accused of organizing the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks began Thursday at this remote US naval base in Cuba. Mohammed, believed to have once been al-Qaeda's third-ranking operative and "mastermind" of the attacks, appeared for the first time in court with the other suspects to hear a reading of war crimes and other charges against them. If convicted, all five could be executed.
Mohammed sat unshackled at the front table with his attorneys and interpreter wearing thick black-rimmed glasses, a large white headscarf and tunic of the same color. He was sporting a long, thick black and gray beard and seemed animated and talkative before the proceedings begin. Only one of the five defendants was shackled.
