The cases of the five suspected al-Qaida militants believed to have planned the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States have been formally referred to a military tribunal.

涉嫌策划美国2001年9/11恐怖袭击的5名基地组织激进份子嫌疑人被正式送交美国军事法庭。

The self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and his four alleged co-conspirators, could face the death penalty if a U.S. military commission finds them guilty for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

如果美国军事委员会认定他们策划9/11恐怖袭击的罪名成立，那么自称是9/11恐怖袭击总策划人哈立德·谢赫·穆罕默德和他的4名同夥可能面临死刑。9/11恐怖袭击造成大约3000人死亡。

In a statement Wednesday, the Defense Department said the defendants are due to appear in court for arraignment proceedings within 30 days. The trial will be held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States has special military commissions set up to try terror suspects.

美国国防部星期三在一份声明中说，被告要在30天内出庭受审，审判将在古巴关塔那摩湾的美国海军基地进行，美国在那里设立了审判恐怖嫌疑人的特别军事委员会。

The five face a litany of charges, including terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, attacking civilians, murder and destruction of property in violation of the law of war.

这5名嫌疑人面临一连串的指控，包括从事恐怖活动、劫持飞机、阴谋策划、攻击平民、谋杀和破坏财产的违反战争法行为。

Pentagon officials say they have provided the defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, each, in addition to their detailed defense council, attorneys with specialized knowledge and experience in death penalty cases in order to assist in their defense.

五角大楼官员说，美国官方除了为5名被告提供详细辩护咨询外，还为他们每个人提供了辩护律师，这些律师都有为死刑案辩护的特殊知识和经验。

Despite these considerations, human rights groups again criticized the use of military tribunals as opposed to civilian courts. Laura Pitter is a lawyer and counterterrorism adviser for Human Rights Watch.

尽管美国官方做出了这些努力，一些**组织还是反对把嫌疑人提交给军事法庭，而不是民事法庭。

"Coerced evidence is still allowed in certain circumstances," said Pitter. "Torture can seep in to some of the evidence that will be admissible. [The system in] Guantanamo is not in line with any fair trial justice standards, so it will taint any verdict that's arrived there."

她说：“在某些情况下，关塔那摩湾的法庭仍然允许出示在胁迫下获得的证据，而且会接受在酷刑下的招供。关塔那摩湾没有公正审判的司法标准，所以所有的判决都会受到影响。”

Pitter says she believes this is unfortunate, considering there is a viable option in the U.S. federal court system.

皮特尔说，她认为美国联邦法庭体系把关塔那摩湾法庭当作一个可行选择，是一件不幸的事。

"Part of what Americans really believe in is that even the worst of the worst are to be tried in a fair system," she said. "They need to be tried in a system that's recognized as fair by international standards and U.S. domestic standards. So to do so in a different system really does not make any sense."

她说：“美国人的理念之一是，即便是恶贯满盈的人也应该得到公平审判，他们应该接受按国际标准和美国标准衡量都称得上公平的法庭审判。所以在一个不同的法律体制下审判他们是不对的。”

U.S. President Barack Obama initially had pledged to try the accused in a civilian court, but he reversed course a year ago after U.S. lawmakers passed restrictions prohibiting the transfer of terror detainees to the United States.

美国总统奥巴马先前曾保证要在民事法庭上审判这5名嫌疑人，可是一年前，美国议员们通过限令，禁止向美国转送关押在关塔那摩湾的恐怖嫌疑人，奥巴马总统改变了主意。