9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in court

Sitting in the front row of a war court at the US Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the world's most notorious defendants, listened intently.

“Can you confirm that Mr. Mohammed pleads guilty to all charges and specifications without exception or substitution?” The judge asked his lawyer if Mohammed was watching.

“Yes, we can, Your Honor,” replied the lawyer.

Sitting in court, Mohammed, 59, with a bright orange beard and wearing a headdress, tunic and trousers, bore little resemblance to a photo. He was aired soon after his arrest In 2003.

Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, was due to be convicted this week – more than 23 years after nearly 3,000 people were killed in what the US government described as the “most heinous crime ever”. American Soil in Modern History”.

But two days later, as Mohammed was set to formally enter his decision — the result of a controversial deal with U.S. government counsel — he instead watched in silence as the judge said a federal appeals order had halted the proceedings. the court

It will be a landmark week for a case that was expected to face a decade of delays. Now, with a new complication, it continues into an uncertain future.

“This is going to be a trial forever,” said a relative of one of the 9/11 victims.

Mohammed had previously said he planned the “9/11 operation from A-to-Z” – the idea of ​​training pilots to fly commercial airliners into buildings and taking those plans to Osama bin Laden, the leader of the militant Islamist group al. Qaida

But he has yet to formally plead guilty in court. This week's break comes amid a dispute between US prosecutors and his legal team over a deal last year, under which Mohammed would not face the death penalty in exchange for his guilty plea.

The US government for several months Tried to cancel the contractsaid that allowing the deal to go ahead would cause “irreparable” harm to both it and the American public. Those who support the deal see it as the only way forward in a case that has been complicated by questions about the torture Mohammed and others faced in US custody and whether it taints evidence.

After a last-minute appeal by prosecutors, a three-judge panel at the federal appeals court called for a delay to give them time to consider the arguments before making their decision.

But the victims' families had already flown to the base on a weekly flight to watch the appeals in a viewing gallery, where thick glass separated them and members of the press from the rest of the sprawling high-security courtroom.

Participants won their spots in this week's program through a lottery system. They arranged childcare and paid for kennels to attend to their pets – knowing they could be called away at any moment. They learned on Thursday night while speaking to the media at a hotel in the base that the plea would not go ahead.

Elizabeth Miller, whose father, New York City firefighter Douglas Miller, died in the attack when she was six, said she was in favor of the deal moving forward to “bring finality,” but acknowledged that other families also felt it was too lenient.

“What's so frustrating is that every time it backs off, each camp gets their hopes up and then their hopes are dashed again,” he said, as other relatives nodded in agreement.

“It's like a perpetual restlessness… It's like constant whiplash.”

This week's break is the latest in a series of delays, complications and controversies at the base, where the US military has held prisoners for 23 years now.

The military prison at Guantanamo Bay was established during the “war on terror” that Mohammed is accused of orchestrating after the 9/11 attacks. The first prisoners were brought there on 11 January 2002.

Then-President George W. Bush issued a military order establishing military tribunals to try non-US citizens, saying they could be held indefinitely without charge and could not legally challenge their detention.

Dressed in bright orange jumpsuits, 20 men were brought into a makeshift prison camp called X-Ray, where the cells were caged and exposed bed mats on the floor.

The barbed-wire encircled camp is now long abandoned and overgrown – the wooden watch tower is overgrown with weeds and signs along the fence say “Off Limits” in red text.

Although conditions at Guantanamo have improved, it continues to face criticism from the United Nations and rights groups for its treatment of detainees. And it continues to challenge US officials and advocates who hope to see it stopped.

As president, Barack Obama promised to close the prison during his term, saying it was against American values. These efforts were revived under the Biden administration.

Unlike Mohammed, most of the people held there since its creation have never been charged with a crime.

The current detention facility is off-limits to journalists, with access only to those with security clearances.

A short drive away, there's an Irish pub, a McDonald's, a bowling alley and a museum, serving military personnel and contractors on the base – most of whom have never been inside a prison.

As legal teams, journalists and families gathered at the base for Mohammed's scheduled appeal, a secret dawn raid was conducted to whisk a group of 11 Yemeni prisoners away from the base for resettlement in Oman.

With the transfer, the base, which once housed about 800 inmates, now holds just 15 inmates — the lowest number in its history.

Of the rest, all but six have been charged or convicted of war crimes, with lawyers arguing their cases in complex legal battles in the base's high-security courtroom.

As the court adjourned on Friday, the judge said Mohammed's appeal, if allowed to proceed, would now fall to the next US administration.