A U.S. military judge's ruling that the alleged mastermind of the September
11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-accused will be tried
separately produces new challenges for defence attorneys at Guantanamo
Bay.

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA (FILE) REUTERS -
 A U.S. Marine Corps judge's ruling that the five alleged
co-conspirators in the September 11 attacks will be tried separately adds a
new wrinkle to the challenges facing defence attorneys at Guantanamo Bay. 
    When they were arraigned together in June, all five men refused
military counsel, choosing instead to represent themselves.  
    Judge Colonel Ralph Kohlmann's ruling came in response to concerns from
appointed defence attorneys that their clients were being pressured by Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed to refuse counsel. Mohammed, a former senior leader in al
Qaeda, is believed to have masterminded the September 11, 2001 attacks.  
    In this latest arrangement, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed
Al-Hawsawi,  Ramzi Binalshibh and Walid Bin Attash and Mohammed will all be
seated at separate tables. They will also be flanked by their court-appointed
defence attorneys. 
     A U.S. military defence attorney,Lieutenant-Colonel Yvonne Bradley, is
sceptical of what she calls "eleventh hour" concerns about access to
counsel.  
    "Even in the criminal justice system, you don't wait to the day of
the trial or pre-trial to have counsel," Bradley said in an interview at
her Swathmore, Pennsylvania office. 
    Bradley said the defence attorneys representing the five alleged
co-conspirators will be at a distinct disadvantage when the U.S.  begins the
trial. All five men face a possibile death sentence.  
    Bradley represents British Guantanamo inmate Binyam Mohammed, who is
expected to face a tribunal within months and she has been holding meetings
with him for several years, which is a factor she believes has been crucial to
forge any sort of attorney-client relationship.
    "People have the right to have counsel right away so you can 
build up that trust and that rapport that is necessary," Bradley
said.
    All five of the September 11 suspects were transferred to Guantanamo in
late 2005 after spending as many as three years in a CIA secret prison.  
    While defence attorneys have said they will challenge any evidence
believed to have been obtained through coercion, Bradley says it may not have
much bearing.    
    "It's not a criminal justice court. Unfortunately it is a
political court. To even describe what is happening at Guantanamo Bay is a
mystery, what is happening with military commissions. It is a mystery to
everyone. it is a court that is made out of whole cloth," Bradley said. 

    Prosecutors have requested a trial date be set for mid-Septemeber.