Khalid Sheikh Mohammed faces tribunal

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is facing a military tribunal in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Saturday.

Mohammed, born in 1965, stands accused of a slew of horrific crimes, including terrorism and murder. A statement from the U.S. Defense Department claims that Mohammed and four co-defendants are "responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., resulting in the killing of 2,976 people."

The specific charges include terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destruction of property in violation of the law of war.

A photograph taken of Mohammed after he was captured in 2003 was widely distributed on the Web. In the picture, Mohammed looks disheveled with messy hair and a loose-fitting T-shirt.

Families of the victims will be able to watch the accused in court via closed-circut television. However, the trial is believed to be at least a year away. The others accused of murder and terrorism are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. All face the possibility of a death sentence.