News

Thu, Jun 5th 2008, 17:20

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, appearing in public for the first time since his capture in Pakistan in 2003, refused the help of lawyers to defend him.

He told the court he wanted the death sentence sought by the prosecution as he wished to become a martyr.

Correspondents says the hearing raises questions about military commissions.

The five men, dressed in white tunics and turbans, did not have to be forced out of their cells, as some defendants in earlier hearings have been, Reuters news agency reports.