A judge has suspended the Guantanamo Bay trials of five men accused over the 9/11 attacks, in line with a request by US President Barack Obama.
Among the five is alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who had opposed the suspension saying he wanted to confess to his role in the attacks.
Mr Obama had earlier asked for a four-month halt to all tribunals at Guantanamo to review the process.
The request was one of his first acts as president.
Before the judge's ruling, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three others accused over the 11 September 2001 attacks had said they opposed halting the trials.
Lawyers for a fifth man supported the proposed suspension.
A judge in a separate case - that of Omar Khadr, a Canadian man accused of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan in 2002 - has suspended that trial for 120 days.
Mr Obama has repeatedly promised to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where some 250 inmates accused of having links to terrorism remain.
There are 21 pending cases.
A two-page document, ordered jointly by Mr Obama and the US Department of Defense, sought a 120-day suspension of trials.
The delay would "permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military commission process", the document said.
The legal process has been widely criticised because the US military acts as jailer, judge and jury, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Guantanamo.
However, closing Guantanamo Bay will not be easy, our correspondent adds. Questions remain over where those charged will be tried and where those freed can be safely sent.
In his inaugural address on Tuesday, Mr Obama emphasised the idea of respect for justice and the rights of the individual, rejecting "as false the choice between our safety and our ideals".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7843056.stm
Published: 2009/01/21 17:30:43 GMT
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