Accused in 9/11 attack questions judge on religious affiliation

McClatchy Newspapers

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — At the war court Tuesday, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind pressed his military judge to reveal his religious affiliation — and the Marine colonel presiding at the Sept. 11, 2001, terror trial made clear that he is not a Jew.

The curious scene took place in the voir dire, ahead of the military mass murder trial, in which lawyers question a judge on his potential bias at trial.

Since Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the accused al-Qaida kingpin and Sept. 11 architect, is acting as his attorney, he was allowed to question his judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann.

At issue was the judge’s refusal — on grounds it was not relevant — to answer written questions about his religion.

“[President] Bush said this is a crusader war and Osama bin Laden said this is a holy war against the crusades,” said Mohammed, insisting his questions were relevant to determine whether Kohlmann were a religious extremist. “If you were part of Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson’s group,” he said, offering an example, “then you would not be impartial.”

The judge relented. He replied that he was currently unaffiliated with a church “because I’ve moved so often.” In the past, he said, he had worshipped at “various Lutheran churches and Episcopal churches.”

At that point Sept. 11 co-defendant Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a former resident of Hamburg, Germany, blurted out: “As far as I know your last name is a Jewish name, not a Christian name.”

Kohlmann denied it. “With regard to your observation about my heritage and background,” he said, “it’s actually inaccurate. And I’ll leave it at that.”

Much of Tuesday’s hearing was expected to be devoted to the questioning of the judge by the Sept. 11 accused. Other motions being argued this week will revolve around access to evidence, defense planning and resources.

All five of the terror suspects were in court, unshackled and sitting at their defense tables in the white uniforms of the prison camp.

The hearing was delayed by a day after bin al-Shibh refused to leave his cell. The judge allowed his co-defendants to write him notes that coaxed him back to court, rather than have guards employ a tackle-and-shackle technique called a Forced Cell Extraction.

Mohammed and four other former CIA-held war-on-terror captives are accused in a complex conspiracy case that seeks their military execution, if convicted. They allegedly plotted, financed and directed from overseas the 19 men who hijacked the four U.S. aircraft that crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field — killing 2,973 victims.

Bin al-Shibh has been banned so far from serving as his own attorney while he undergoes a court-ordered competency examination. His Navy defense lawyer says the prison camp has the 36-year-old Yemeni on psychotropic drugs, including one commonly used for schizophrenia.