9/11 self-proclaimed mastermind back at Guantanamo court

Self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged co-plotters are to appear today before the special tribunal known as military commissions on the US naval base.

They face the death penalty if convicted for the 2001 attacks on the United States that left nearly 3,000 people dead.

With prosecutors refusing to reveal information deemed classified and holding parts of the debates behind closed doors, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) rights group and 14 media groups are calling for complete transparency.

At issue are the torture and abuse the five men said they suffered at the hands of US authorities, and the classified status that President Barack Obama's administration says covers details of the suspects' treatment, citing national security concerns.

Among the petitions that will be examined during the five days of hearings are government motions to "protect against disclosure of national security information" and to "protect unclassified discovery material where disclosure would be detrimental to the public interest".

"If this is going to be a trial about what happened on 9/11... only the truth should come out and not the US government's spin on the truth until they opened the process; right now, it's just their spin," said Cheryl Bormann, who is defending Walid bin Attash of Yemen.

"The government shouldn't be able to hide behind classification issues."

Prior to their 2006 transfer to Guantanamo, the five men, were held at the CIA's secret prisons, where they were subjected to treatment that critics label as torture.

"The public has the right to see the proceedings," said James Connell, who is representing Mohammed's Pakistani nephew Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi.