9/11 mastermind dons camo vest to face Gitmo court

ACLU lawyer Hima Shamsi (background) addresses Judge Pohl, while 9/11 victim family members (left to right): Gordon Haberman, Kathy Haberman, Jo Aquaviva, and Anthony Aquaviva observe from behind a glass barrier at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on Wednesday. By NBC News staff and wire services The self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks showed up to court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday wearing a camouflage vest after a judge ruled that the military-style garment would not disrupt the proceedings. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was appearing before the military commission for the third day of hearings that will set the ground rules for a trial of the 47-year-old Kuwaiti and four accused co-conspirators accused of planning and aiding hijackers who flew commercial airlines into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing 2,976 people. All five defendants are charged with terrorism and murder and could be sentenced to death if convicted. Mohammed, who has grown a long beard in detention and dyed it with henna, wore the vest over his traditional white tunic and turban. He and a co-defendant had sought to wear camouflage items at their May 5 arraignment, but that request was denied. At the time, the commander of the Guantanamo Bay prison said the camouflage might make it harder for the military prison guards to gain control if necessary, suggesting the clothing could create confusion about telling the difference between prisoners and fellow troops. In Tuesday's hearing, the judge in the case, Army Col. James Pohl, dismissed the suggestion that the more than a dozen military members in the courtroom would have any problem distinguishing the bearded defendants. But just to be sure, he specifically prohibited them from wearing any items from U.S. military uniforms. Mohammed considers himself a prisoner of war and wanted the same right to wear a uniform as the Japanese and German troops prosecuted for war crimes after World War II, according to his lawyers. Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com  On Wednesday, the court resumed hearing arguments on the admissibility of testimony that includes information about the period of detention and harsh interrogation techniques employed at secret CIA prisons, prior to the men's transfer to Guantanamo Bay in 2006. The government has already acknowledged some details about the secret prisons, including the fact that Mohammed was subjected to a near-drowning technique called water-boarding 183 times, but prosecutors have said that restrictions are necessary to prevent the release of information that would reveal information about intelligence sources and methods. ACLU attorney Hina Shamsi picked up where she left off Tuesday when court adjourned, arguing that the detention information should be part of the public record. Shamsi said the restrictions were overly broad and intended not to protect national security so much as to prevent the public from learning more details about the harsh confinement of the defendants in the CIA's prisons overseas. Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter "We are aware, your honor, of no other protective order that is as radical as what the government is asking you to judicially bless here," Shamsi said. The painstaking pre-trial hearings are intended to deal with 25 motions, many of them dealing with security rules and defendants' rights. On Monday, the court agreed that the defendants could not be forced to attend the pre-trial hearings. At Wednesday's hearings, Mohammed, who was born in Kuwait, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, a Pakistani, were the only two of the five who attended. Mustafa Al Hawsawi, a Saudi; and Walid Bin Attash and Ramzi Binalshibh, both from Yemen, sat this one out. Mohammed's attire had no apparent effect on the proceedings. The Associated Press and NBC News' Kari Huus contributed to this report. More world stories from NBC News: 'Spy of the West': Al-Qaida, Taliban struggle to justify attack on Pakistani teen UK computer hacker wins 10 year fight against extradition to US Algae bloom off Canada tied to company's salmon 'fertilization' test Mystery kidney disease decimates Central America sugarcane workers Clinton: 'We did everything we could to keep our people safe' Demand for palm oil, used in packaged food products, leaves orangutans at risk Assad forces using cluster bombs, rights group says Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook Follow Kari Huus on Facebook