Some Gitmo prisoners to face US courts, Holder announces
U.S. officials are reviewing which Guantanamo Bay detainees could face trial in American courts and the first indications could come next week, the U.S. attorney general said Sunday.
Eric Holder told reporters that some decisions could be announced as early as Nov. 16, but he declined to give details or say whether it could include some of the detainees accused in the September 11 attacks.
The Senate last week backed a plan — supported by Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates — to have the option of prosecuting September 11 terrorists, such as accused mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in either federal courts or by a military commission.
“We are committed to bring to justice people who have committed crimes against our nation and we will do so consistent with the rule of the law,” Holder said on the sidelines of a conference on battling corruption.
Five of the accused Sept. 11 plotters are being held at the Guantanamo detention facility, which the Obama administration has promised to close.
–Full story continues below–