Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and two suspected fellow plotters refused to attend a Guantanamo military court hearing.

Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, all suspected orchestrators of the attacks eight years ago that killed nearly 3,000 people, had been due in court on Monday after filing a motion to fire their lawyers.

The three, who have won permission to defend themselves but vowed to plead guilty to charges that carry the death penalty, refused to leave their cells.

Military judge Stephen Henley turned down a request from government prosecutors to force them to attend.

“You have the power to do it, we’re asking you to do it,” said prosecutor Bob Swann. “We don’t believe it is correct not to have the accused in the courtroom. If they don’t attend, we can’t litigate these motions.”

Two other co-accused, Mustapha al-Hawsawi and Ramzi Binalshibh, have been denied permission to defend themselves, after the judge ordered psychological tests to be carried out on their mental capacity to undergo a trial.

An hour before the hearing was due to start, Henley approved a demand from President Barack Obama’s administration to delay the main proceedings for the five for another 60 days while the government decides how to try them.

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