MUTING ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE.

Josh White of the Post has a great, descriptive piece about the beginning of Khalid Sheik Mohammed's trial at Guantanamo Bay. Each time Mohammed and the four other defendants alleged torture at the hands of U.S. forces, a mute button was pushed by a security guard, cutting off sound to observers and the media:

Mohammed appeared to have equal disdain for the process, but he only briefly mentioned his "torturing" at the hands of U.S. officials, something he acknowledged he was warned not to mention in open court, lest a security official hit a button muting the audio to observers in the courtroom and at a media center nearby. That button was pushed at least a few times on Thursday when detainees appeared to discuss elements of their early captivity in secret facilities or the way they were treated.

"All of this has been taken under torturing," Mohammed said. "Then after torturing, they transfer us to Inquisition Land here at Guantanamo, and you tell everyone to sit down, sit down."

--Dana Goldstein