I have not met him, but I am working on him. He is the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was captured in Pakistan and was handed over to Americans who have put him in Guantanamo Bay.

At the moment there is a trial going on in Guantanamo that is seeking charges and ultimately the sentence against Sheikh. He doesn't want to be defended by lawyers, although the court has appointed the lawyer to defend him. He recently asked to be executed. He wants to be accused and be a martyr. The judge said he will have to look into his request if he can plead guilty and ask for the death sentence without going through a proper trial process.

At the moment it is a period of deliberations between the lawyers and the judge.

What is your reading of the case?

Since 9/11 I have worked as an expert witness in various cases in America because I am an expert on Islam, Islamic law, the radical jihadi movement and also on Al Qaeda. In many trials that have taken place since 9/11 people have been arrested and tried. You often have a group of lawyers who are prosecuting and a group of lawyers who are defending the person of the crime.

Because a lot of material which is produced as evidence -- like letters, video tapes, telephonic conversations, books -- is in Arabic and quite technical dealing with Islam and Islamic laws, the jury, the judges, the lawyers need an expert to come to the court to explain what this letter means, what does an accused means when he says certain things. I was brought in as an expert.

In America very often I go to court. I will be going to Guantanamo soon. I haven't been there yet.

I have worked very closely with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He is of Baluch origin. His lawyers are all American, appointed by the American Civil Liberties Union which is defending him.

My sense of his case is that it is complicated. It seems, it appears, that he was tortured. This has been in the press. It is not clear if he was tortured in Pakistan or in Guantanamo. They did something to him, what is called water-boarding. It is a simulation of drowning. They made him feel that he was drowning. It is a form of torture. In America it is very problematic because some people consider it a torture and some don't.

According to reports, when he was water-boarded and tortured, he admitted to being the mastermind of 9/11. The case involves an unprecedented situation where we have military commissions and courts in Guantanamo where people may or may not have been tortured and who are involved in 9/11 and are seeking permission to be executed.

I am involved with the lawyers to get a fair trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as much as possible.

I think what is important at least for me, and I think also for the ACLU, is to see what makes us different from Al Qaeda. In America, we have a country where there is a rule of law and it applies to people and that is important.

In America if people are arrested there is something called the due process of law that is allowed. That we don't just kill them. We actually hold a trial. That is what makes us civilised and that's what makes Al Qaeda uncivilised.

So, it is very important for me and many Americans that this man, ultimately, if found guilty then his guilt is established through a legal process and not through torture or through summary execution.

Image: A courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the US military, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, top, Walid Bin Attash, second from top, and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, third from top, attending a pre-trial hearing on charges related to the 9/11 attacks at Guantanamo Bay, December 8, 2008. Photograph: Janet Hamlin/Reuters

Also see: For the record: The 11/7 chargesheet

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