Gitmo detainee faces challenges defending self in Sept. 11 trial

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Guantanamo prisoner accused in the Sept. 11 attacks complained Wednesday that his confinement and obstructions by the US military are complicating his court-approved effort to serve as his own lawyer. Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, one of five men charged in the attacks, said the military did not deliver two letters and a motion that he wrote to the judge ahead of the pretrial hearing. The judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, said Ali's situation will only become more difficult and tried to persuade him to accept his lawyers. Without a security clearance, he said Ali will not have access to certain classified material during the death penalty trial. "The way the rules are you will not have access to classified material to assist you in your case," he said.