Defendants sit out Guantanamo hearing in 9/11 case

The Guantanamo Bay war crimes tribunal is back in session in the September 11 case, but without the defendants.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants chose to sit out the second-day of a week long pretrial motions hearing. It's not clear why they are boycotting today's session.
A day earlier, defendant Ramzi Binalshibh requested permission to address the court and was denied.
The judge allows them to skip pretrial sessions but says they must attend the trial. Prosecutors have expressed concerns, fearing the men might later argue that they were excluded from court and use that as a basis for an appeal.

The five are charged with nearly 3,000 counts of murder for planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A trial date has not yet been set.