NEW YORK — Moans, sighs and exclamations erupted Saturday as relatives of Sept. 11 victims watched four closed-circuit TV feeds from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that showed the self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks and co-defendants trying to slow their arraignment.
“It’s actually a joke; it feels ridiculous,” said Jim Riches, whose firefighter son, Jimmy, died at the World Trade Center.
Riches watched the hearing from a movie theater at Fort Hamilton in New York City, one of four U.S. military bases where the arraignment was broadcast live for victims’ family members, survivors and emergency personnel who responded to the attacks.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the other defendants were arraigned on charges that include terrorism and murder. During the hearing, they refused to cooperate.
Like other family members, Riches expressed frustration about the proceedings.
“It’s been a mess for 11 years,” Riches said as he stood in the rain during a break in the proceedings and described the atmosphere inside. After his first glimpse inside the military courtroom, he said, “It looks like it’s going to be a very long trial. … They want what they want.”
