Lawyer says 9/11 defendants will plead not guilty so they can express their political views
By APSunday, November 22, 2009
Lawyer: 9/11 defendants want platform for views
NEW YORK — A lawyer for one of five men facing trial for the Sept. 11 attacks says the men plan to plead not guilty and use the trial to express their political views.
Attorney Scott Fenstermaker says his client Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali and the others will not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but will tell the jury “why they did it.”
He says the men will explain “their assessment of American foreign policy.”
Fenstermaker met with Ali last week at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. He says the men, including professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, have discussed the trial among themselves.
The Justice Department announced earlier this month that the men would face a civilian federal trial in New York City. The department did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Sunday.
