WASHINGTON |
(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday reversed plans to use U.S. criminal courts to prosecute the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four co-conspirators and ordered them tried at a military tribunal.
Following are some key questions and answers about this major reversal of policy.
WHY THE REVERSAL?
There was visceral opposition from Republicans and even some of Obama's fellow Democrats to prosecuting Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators in a federal court in the heart of Manhattan, just blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
Opponents argued the trial would create a target for attacks and security could cost up to $1 billion. They also did not believe Mohammed and his accused co-conspirators were entitled to receive full U.S. legal rights in a federal court.
The U.S. Congress blocked funding for transferring any of the men to American soil for trial or detention.
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