(CNN) Five alleged 9/11 plotters, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who has been called the mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks, appeared in a military court for a pretrial hearing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Tuesday. All five are accused of having some involvement with planning and executing the 2001 terror attacks.
The pretrial hearing is the first time the five detainees have appeared in court since February 2020. Along with Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi are also charged in the capital case. If convicted, all five could receive the death penalty.
The case has faced a series of challenges since and before the detainees were arraigned at Guantanamo in 2012 during the Obama administration. The most recent 18-month hiatus was caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and personnel changes.
