Testimony from families of 9/11 victims sought at Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — With a military tribunal for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist plot is grinding along in the pretrial stage, prosecutors asked a judge Tuesday to allow public testimony as early as this fall from people who lost family members in the attack.

All five defendants face charges that include nearly 3,000 counts of murder in violation of the law of war and terrorism for their alleged roles planning the attack and providing logistical support to the hijackers.

Witnesses that the prosecutors would like to call include Lee Hanson, 83, whose son was on the hijacked United Airlines flight that was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center and died along with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, the youngest victim of the terrorist attack.

The testimony from the family members is "undoubtedly important evidence for the commission members to consider when evaluating the harm caused by the actions of the accused," the prosecutors argued in a court filing.