Mustafa al-Hawsawi Went 5 Days Unrepresented in Sept. 11 Death Penalty Hearing
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 3
Mustafa al-Hawsawi Went 5 Days Unrepresented in Sept. 11 Death Penalty Hearing
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 3
Summary
Five days of March hearings at Guantánamo left Sept. 11 defendant Mustafa al-Hawsawi without his capital defense lawyer, an unprecedented lapse in the military commission case.
Pneumonia kept attorney Walter Ruiz confined to his base hotel room, but Judge Lt. Col. Michael Schrama refused requests to pause proceedings, saying the week's testimony centered on another defendant.
Death penalty lawyers said the judge had a duty to suspend the hearing to protect al-Hawsawi's rights and argued the episode exposed the inexperience of both the judge and the military system.
If the long-running case against four men accused in the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people ever reaches a death-penalty verdict, defense lawyers say the week without counsel could help overturn it.
Could a lawyer's five-day sick leave unravel 25 years of proceedings in the 9/11 death penalty case?
A judge's ruling on torture-tainted confessions is imminent. Will it collapse the entire 9/11 case this August?
9/11 Military Commission at 15 Years: Torture, Delays, and the Crisis of Justice in the Guantánamo Trials
Overview
As of June 2026, the 9/11 military commission case remains stuck in a lengthy pretrial phase, with no trial date set more than a decade after the initial arraignment. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, now the fifth judge to oversee the case, faces a heavy backlog of over 90 motions and may use the summer to address them instead of holding more hearings. This ongoing delay highlights the complex legal battles, frequent changes in leadership, and unresolved issues that continue to prevent the case from moving forward, raising serious questions about the effectiveness and fairness of the process.