Alleged 9/11 Plotter Blasts Obama in Letter From Guantanamo

Alleged 9/11 Plotter Blasts Obama in Letter From Guantanamo
President Barack Obama during his final presidential news conference, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press
2/9/2017
Updated:
2/9/2017

Marine Corps Maj. Derek Poteet, a military lawyer appointed to represent Mohammad, said his client started the letter in 2014, prompted by civilian deaths in Gaza and said it echoes arguments he has made throughout his time in confinement.

“It appears to be a continuation of a consistent theme that he believes Americans do not count the casualties experienced by others around the world, perhaps especially Muslims, as being valuable,” Poteet said.

Mohammad and his co-defendants face charges that include hijacking, terrorism and nearly 3,000 counts of murder in violation of the laws of war in a case that remains in the pretrial stage.

In a closed 2007 appearance before a panel of military officers, he said he planned the Sept. 11 attacks “from A to Z” and had been involved in many other plots. He said he personally beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl with his “blessed right hand,” according to a transcript.

At his first public court hearing in 2008, he chanted verses of the Quran and said he would welcome becoming a martyr for his Sept. 11 role. The following year he released a written statement calling the attacks a “noble victory.”

The chief prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mohammad’s letter, but in a court filing the prosecution said Mohammad should not be allowed to “to disseminate propaganda wholly unrelated to this commission proceeding.”