WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2021) The US Office of Military Commissions' spokesperson Ronald Flesvig told Sputnik there is no new date set to resume the pretrial hearings of five detainees accused of plotting and executing the September 11 terrorist attacks.
US media reported earlier that Colonel Matthew McCall, the new military judge behind the 9/11 case, abruptly canceled the final day of the hearing in Guantanamo due to a case of an illness related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I do not have an answer yet. The judge did not issue a written ruling," Flesvig said on Friday when asked for additional details about the delayed hearing. "I'm working to get an official reason for the cancellation."
The pretrial hearings for the five detainees opened last week at the Expeditionary Legal Complex at Guantanamo Bay.
The Friday hearing was canceled due to an illness detected among some trial participants, according to media reports. Also, a reporter who returned to the US from the prison complex on Sunday reportedly tested positive for the virus. The journalist was reportedly fully vaccinated.
So far, four out of five detainees who apprised at the trial, have been vaccinated.
The sudden news comes on the heels of the announcement of McCall who said on Monday that the trial of five Guantanamo Bay detainees is not expected to begin for at least another year. The judge also said military commission regulations, the Air Force bar and ethical obligations did not bound going to trial by a particular timeline.
