9/11 New York trial: what they’re saying

The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is to go on trial in a civilian court in New York City, just blocks away from the World Trade Center site where the Twin Towers crumbled to the ground in September 2001. Mohammed will be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York along with four other suspected conspirators - two Yemenis, a Saudi and a Pakistan-born Kuwaiti.

Announcing the decision today, US Attorney General Eric Holder said: "I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators."

Mohammed, described by investigators as "one of history's most infamous terrorists", told a pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo a year ago that he wanted to plead guilty to all charges against him. However, there is evidence that he may have been subjected to harsh interrogation techniques after he was captured in Pakistan in March 2003, which could render some testimony inadmissible.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

Charlie Savage, the New York Times: "The prospect of giving different detainees different kinds of trials, based on where government officials think they can win convictions, has led to criticism by some human rights and civil liberties advocates."

The Daily Telegraph: "It is a major legal and political test of Mr Obama's overall approach to terrorism. If the case suffers legal setbacks, the administration will face second-guessing from those who never wanted it in a civilian courtroom."

Maureen Santora, mother of firefighter Christopher Santora who died in the Twin Towers attack: "These are very dangerous men. I don't want them near my children, near my grandchildren. I don't want them on our soil."

Michael Tomasky, the Guardian: "[Military justice] is swifter and usually more certain. The civilian trial process in a case like this could well take years. Attorney General Eric Holder has selected the Southern District of New York as the regional federal prosecuting office that will handle the case. That's the right decision. The best federal prosecutors in the country work there. But a civilian trial is still risky."

Pierre Thomas, Ariane de Vogue and Jason Ryan, ABC News: "One line of thinking is that trying the suspected terrorists in federal court - rather than using military commissions - would send a powerful message to the international community and undo some of the damage the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has done to the U.S. image abroad."

James Gordon Meek, New York Daily News: "Many victims' kin fear moving the trials from Gitmo's secure military court to the Southern District of New York will mean three more years of delays before the plotters face justice - which Pentagon officials predicted on a recent trip to Gitmo. 'They told us that,' recounted Mary Novotny of New City, whose son Brian was killed in the twin towers. Starting all over with new trials would be 'a slap in the face', as would be giving them constitutional rights, she added."

Elisa Massimino of Human Rights First: "It treats these perpetrators as the criminals they are, depriving them of the warrior status which they crave and the military commissions facilitated. This is an important course correction and will help to thwart their ability to recruit others to their cause."