MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti) – Several accused September 11 conspirators are scheduled to appear in a US military court on Monday to give their first-ever testimony about life inside the notorious Guantanamo prison, The Miami Herald reported.
The conditions of confinement at the US military prison in Cuba are the latest roadblock in the US death-penalty trial of Yemeni citizen Ramzi bin al Shibh and four other men who had allegedly planned the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
The report said it is unclear how much information will be made public, as defense lawyers for some of the suspects said Sunday they may not be allowed to question the prison commander or psychiatrists about cells used for extreme isolation.
All four suspects are expected to testify anonymously or under fake names.
At previous hearings in December, the 41-year-old Yemeni was ejected four times by the Army judge as he shouted that guards routinely keep him awake at night through noises and vibrations.
The court will decide whether bin al Shibh, who had refused to participate in a court-ordered mental-health exam, imagined the noises and vibrations.
His civilian lawyer, Jim Harrington, claimed Sunday night that his client is particularly sensitive “as a result of an injury he suffered after his capture in Pakistan on Sept. 11, 2002, and before the CIA turned him over to the US military in 2006,” according to the newspaper.
Since it was established in 2002, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has been the target of criticism by human rights activists and international officials, who have condemned its controversial interrogation methods and the dubious legality of holding prisoners indefinitely without charging them with crimes.
The US has defended the prison as a necessary measure to restrain dangerous prisoners who pose a serious threat to national and international security.
As of last month, 154 prisoners remain at Guantanamo Bay.
Russia has urged the US to close the notorious prison. President Vladimir Putin criticized what he said were “medieval” conditions at the facility, claiming that people there are kept for years without any charges and "go around in shackles.”
