911疑犯纽约受审引发争议

Senior US Republicans have condemned the Obama administration's move to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others in New York.

美国共和党高级官员谴责奥巴马政府将911幕后操纵者哈立德·穆罕默德以及其他四名成员押送至纽约受审的决议。

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said bringing the suspects from Guantanamo into the US was would put "Americans unnecessarily at risk".

The five will be tried in a civilian court near Ground Zero. The prosecution says it will seek the death penalty.

Democrats hailed（欢呼，致敬） the decision, while families of 9/11 victims are divided.

The move is part of US President Barack Obama's efforts to close the Guantanamo detention centre for terror suspects.

"The Department of Justice will pursue prosecution in federal court of the five individuals accused of conspiring（阴谋，协力） to commit the 9/11 attacks," US Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference.

"I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators."

But Republican leaders immediately criticised the move.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said described it as "a step backwards for the security of our country" that "puts Americans unnecessarily at risk".

Former President George W Bush's last attorney general, Michael Mukasey, said: "The Justice Department claims that our courts are well suited to the task. Based on my experience trying such cases and what I saw as attorney general, they aren't."

Bloomberg support

Sen John McCain, a Republican who lost to Mr Obama in the 2008 presidential race, stated that military tribunals（军事审判机关） were the best venue（审判地，发生地点） for terror suspects.

"They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of dozens of other nations," he said.

But Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said the decision demonstrates "to the world that the most powerful nation on earth also trusts its judicial system".

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg - an independent - also backed the move: "It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site where so many New Yorkers were murdered."

Two Yemenis, a Saudi and a Pakistani-born Kuwaiti will face trial alongside Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

They are accused of helping finance and plan the attacks of 11 September 2001 in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.

No date was given for a trial, but US media reports say Congress needs at least 45 days' notice before the detainees can be transferred to the US.

The five men had until now been facing prosecution at US military commissions in Guantanamo. The government had faced a 16 November deadline to decide how to proceed in their cases.

Five other detainees have been referred for military commission trials.