Obama, who has tried and failed to close the prison at a US
Navy base on Cuba, had planned to send the five suspects to New York for a
civilian trial in a court near the site of the World Trade Center that was
destroyed in the attacks.
But he failed to overcome political resistance and dropped
the plan. Last month, he also reluctantly lifted a two-year freeze on new
military trials at Guantanamo after failing to make headway on a US alternative
with lawmakers.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US
Attorney General Eric Holder would announce the site of the trial of Mohammed
and his co-conspirators at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday.
Holder has previously said he would authorize prosecutors to
seek the death penalty against the five defendants.
Mohammed, an Al-Qaeda leader who was captured in Pakistan in
2003, is being held in a prison at the base.
Obama has called the Guantanamo Bay facility, set up by his
predecessor President George W. Bush, a recruiting symbol for anti-American
groups and said allegations of prisoner mistreatment there had tarnished
America’s reputation.
He pledged immediately after taking office that he would
shut it down. But he failed to overcome objections by politicians and others to
transferring some detainees to US prisons.
They argued that suspects should not be allowed the full US
legal rights that would be granted in a US court and also cited security
concerns.
Some critics said bringing suspects like Mohammed to US soil
could make New York or other places a magnet for new attacks.
