Judge halts 9/11 trial at Guantánamo

A military judge has halted the Guantánamo pretrial hearings in the 9/11 case, so one of the five defendants can receive a mental-health exam to determine whether he’s fit to face trial.

{mosads}The Miami Herald reports that Ramzi bin al Shibh, one of the five facing the death penalty for allegedly plotting the 9/11 attacks, will undergo the mental health examination after he was ejected from the courtroom four times this week.

Army Col. James Pohl, the military judge heading up the Guantánamo tribunal, ordered the mental health screening at the prosecutor’s request, and said that pretrial hearings must stop until it is completed.

The defendant was being disruptive in the courtroom and said guards were subjecting him to sleep deprivation. On Wednesday, he accused the prison warden of being a war criminal, according to the Herald.

A similar mental health process was also completed in the Guantánamo trial for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged USS Cole bomber, who was allowed to stand trial.

The Pentagon also on Wednesday transferred two more detainees out of Guantánamo Bay, sending Noor Uthman Muhammed and Ibrahim Othman Ibrahim Idris to Sudan.

There are now 158 detainees still remaining at Guantánamo Bay.