9/11 suspects, judge at cross-purposes in first hearing

GUANTANAMO BAY (AFP) - Between defendants who rejected man-made law and a judge intent on implementing it, the first hearing of the alleged September 11 plotters quickly descended into a dialogue of the deaf.

For years, the five suspects accused of planning the 2001 attacks in New York and the Pentagon were simply ghosts, their names and out-of-date photos published regularly but the men themselves hidden in a fog of state secrets. But at about 9:00 am Thursday, they appeared in flesh and blood at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba, looking relatively healthy and relaxed.

The men seemed almost happy to be at the hearing, where they could speak to each other, apparently for the first time since they were arrested over five years ago.

Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, considered the brains of the attacks, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Wallid bin Attash and Mustapha al-Hawsawi face the death penalty if found guilty of charges including conspiracy and murder.