Sept 11 prosecutors see "hue and cry" on evidence

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors preparing to try accused September 11 plotters expect criticism if they seek to use defendants' statements as evidence, because some suspects were abused during interrogation. But they say it will not deter them.

A team of federal prosecutors working under military leadership is helping to prepare cases against "high-value" terrorism suspects, including five facing charges of participating in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The cases begin next week with the arraignment of the five at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The authorities are mulling whether and how to use the defendants' own words against them, despite accusations that harsh CIA and military interrogations have made any information obtained from them unreliable.

"Certainly there's a number of prosecutions where we're going to try to draw upon statements defendants have made. It's evolving," said a U.S. official involved in the process.

He said the prosecutors were aware of the questions over defendants' statements and had been "judicious in what they seek to have admitted."

"No matter which statements the government offers, there will be an extraordinary hue and cry," he said. He said cases were unlikely to be decided by statements alone.

The officials spoke to Reuters this week, before the September 11 suspects are arraigned next Thursday at a Guantanamo military war crimes court. The suspects will be asked basic questions about their representation by an attorney and given an opportunity to enter a plea.

The trial is not expected to start for several months -- possibly after a new president takes office in January.

MASTERMIND

The five suspects include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the 2001 attacks. The military dropped charges earlier this month against a sixth September 11 defendant, Mohammed al-Qahtani, but did not say why.

The CIA has acknowledged subjecting Mohammed, also known as KSM, to a simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding as it sought to learn of impending attacks.

Qahtani's military interrogations included being forced to act like a dog, being stripped naked in front of a woman, and having women's underwear put on his head, government reports say.

Qahtani tried to kill himself in April, his lawyer said.

Human rights advocates say such questioning methods are illegal torture and make useless any statements from the suspects, whether used against themselves or in other cases.