MOSCOW, October 16 - RAPSI. Pre-trial hearings began Monday to weigh the national security concerns posed by evidence sought to be presented in the US government’s case against accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohamed and four co-defendants.

The hearings, expected to last approximately one week, will center on secrecy issues, including the issue of whether the defendant’s allegations of torture prior to their arrival at Guantanamo Bay will be suppressed on the basis of national security concerns, and that of how much access should be granted to the news media during the course of proceedings.

Mohamed is accused of having coordinated the terrorist attacks that killed approximately 3,000 people in the US on September 11, 2001 in a series of coordinated plane-hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Mohamed and his co-defendants are charged with conspiring with al Qaeda, attacking civilians, pursuing civilian targets, murder in violation of the laws of war, destruction of property, hijacking, and terrorism.

As mentioned above, the primary issue this week will be that of national security, including the issue of how much access should be granted to the news media during the course of proceedings, and whether the defendant’s allegations of torture prior to their arrival at Guantanamo Bay will be classified on the basis of national security concerns.

The trial has been delayed for the past five months for a variety of reasons, ranging from religious observance, to a tropical storm, to rat droppings and at least one rodent corpse in the defense office. Judge Pohl denied yet another delay motion filed last month on the basis that their office was infested with mold and rat feces.

Although Guantanamo Bay’s hygiene department has attested to the safety of the defense offices, the attorneys refuse to work there- opting instead to work from an off-site trailer. The case’s chief prosecutor Army Brigadier General Mark Martins thinks the defense team needs to man up, telling reporters last Sunday that, "justice is not determined by the plushness of the surroundings."

The five men face the death penalty if convicted.