Accused 9/11 Plotters Due to Be Arraigned in Military Court May 5

They are set to be arraigned for the attacks more than 10 years ago

The five men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks are scheduled to be arraigned on May 5 for their military trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi are charged with planning and executing the disaster that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The chief judge of the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary, Army Col. James L. Pohl, detailed himself as the judge in the case in an arraignment order filed Monday.

The Department of Defense announced last week that charges for the five had been referred to a capital military commission, making them eligible for the death penalty.

The move meant that the convening authority has agreed the men should stand trial.

The men were similarly charged years ago, but the charges were dropped in 2009 when President Barack Obama ordered a review of the Military Commissions process, hoping to move the trial to a civilian court.

That plan was eventually withdrawn, in part because the administration's plans to try the suspects in federal court in lower Manhattan drew opposition from downtown residents and political leaders, including Mayor Bloomberg.

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