WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The accused mastermind of  the Sept. 11 attacks and four co-conspirators will be sent to  New York for trial in a court near the site of the World Trade  Center, the Obama administration said yesterday, as it took a  step toward closing the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the others had been facing  military commission trials at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, but  U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to close the prison.
Civil liberties advocates hailed the decision to transfer the  men to criminal courts but Republicans lashed out, arguing that  bringing them to U.S. soil could make New York a magnet for new  attacks and that the men deserved military trials.

Obama’s decision opened him to risks — should the  prosecutions fail, or if it prompts further attacks, it could  anger the victims’ families and prompt a public backlash.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder expressed confidence that  the cases were strong and said the trials would not be impaired  by the harsh interrogations of Mohammed and others.
“I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide  these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200  years,” Holder told reporters. “I am quite confident that the  outcomes in these cases will be successful ones.”

Obama has promised to close Guantanamo by Jan. 22, saying  that it has become a recruiting symbol for anti-American groups  and it has tarnished the U.S. reputation because of allegations of  prisoner mistreatment.

In New York, some people were angry at the prospect of the men  coming to a city traumatized by the hijacked-plane attacks eight  years ago but others voiced relief that justice may soon be done.

Holder said that he would authorize prosecutors to seek the  death penalty against the five defendants, who will be tried  together in New York. The others are Walid bin Attash, Ramzi  Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi.

There are still 215 prisoners at Guantanamo. The Obama  administration has been trying to find countries willing to take  detainees who have been cleared of terrorism connections.