Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, one of five 9/11 defendants at the military commission trial at Guantánamo, told the judge that problems with the food amounted to torture by the military guards. 
 
 Here's why Marco Rubio may need to drop out 
 
 In this sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, accused 9/11 co-conspirator Ramzi bin al Shibh (r.) confers with legal counsel during a pre-trail hearing at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, August 19. 
 
 In a strange twist in an increasingly unusual case, a defendant in the 9/11 military commission trial at Guantánamo suddenly asked midway through a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday to be taken back to his cell after complaining of being subjected to “psychological torture” by military guards. 
 
 Ramzi Bin al-Shibh asked the judge to be returned to the terror detention camp rather than remain in the courtroom for the rest of the day’s proceeding. 
 
 The judge, US Army Col. James Pohl, asked the defendant whether he was voluntarily waiving his right to be present during the hearing. 
 
 “I cannot remain here,” Mr. Bin al-Shibh told the judge in open court. “There are problems with the food that was provided.” 
 
 He said he was experiencing a “daily problem” with food and that when he had meetings with his lawyers during the lunch hour sometimes he was not provided any lunch at all. 
 
 “This is one sort of psychological torture,” he said. “They cause problems (between) me and the guards on a daily basis,” he said through an Arabic translator. He added that it was not just a problem for him but for “the brothers as well,” referring to his co-defendants in the case. 
 
 The strange action came on the second day of a weeklong series of hearings addressing a range of pre-trial legal issues in the military commission trial of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mr. Bin Al-Shibh, and three others at the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. 
 
 The hearings are being monitored by news reporters at Guantánamo and via a live video feed at Fort Meade, Md. 
 
 Bin al-Shibh was the only defendant of the five who chose to attend Tuesday’s hearing. The four other co-defendants waived their right to be present at the hearing and opted instead to remain in their cells at the terror detention camp. 
 
 Bin al-Shibh did not describe his “problem” in detail, but whatever happened in the holding cell during the lunch break was enough to convince him to ask to return to his cell. 
 
 After consulting with his client, defense lawyer James Harrington said there were underlying problems with detention camp guards that Mr. Harrington said he would seek to resolve with camp officials. 
 
 “Sometimes things build up and build up and build up, and that is what happened in this case,” he told the judge. 
 
 Another of Bin al-Shibh’s lawyers, US Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Bogucki, noted that the judge had earlier issued an order to the guard force at the detention camp in response to complaints from Bin al-Shibh about noises and vibrations in his cell. 
 
 Government lawyers said at the time that there was no evidence that Bin al-Shibh was being subjected to intentional noises and vibrations. But Judge Pohl nonetheless issued an order asking camp officials to stop doing anything that might be causing such a problem. 
 
 Lt. Cmdr. Bogucki said that when Bin al-Shibh tried to cite the judge’s order to military guards after the ruling was issued, he was told they knew nothing of such an order. 
 
 When Bogucki confronted camp officials about the matter, he said he was told: “This is not a judge issue, this is our issue,” and “if you don’t like it, file a motion.” 
 
 The defense lawyer told the judge that detention camp officials showed a “complete lack of respect for your order.” He said based on reports from his client, the harassing activity was both ongoing and retaliatory. 
 
 Judge Pohl said that the first time the complaints of noises and vibrations were brought to his courtroom, government lawyers suggested that perhaps the noises and vibrations existed only in Bin al-Shibh’s mind. 
 
 “My client suffers from no such delusional disorder,” Bogucki replied. 
 
 Pohl said that the appropriate response would be for defense lawyers to contact the camp commander and raise the issue directly with him. 
 
 “The camp commander is part of the problem,” Bogucki said. “The quotes I gave you were from the camp commander.” 
 
 The lawyer added: “This is a case unprecedented in American history given the treatment that these men have had, so we do have to proceed in some manner.” 
 
 All five of the defendants were held for years in secret custody by the Central Intelligence Agency where they were subjected to prolonged and harsh interrogation techniques. Those techniques included sleep deprivation and sensory deprivation combined with prolonged exposure to loud noises. 
 
 A spokesman for the detention camp at Guantánamo denied the existence of any significant problem between Bin al-Shibh and the guards. 
 
 “A freshly-prepared standard detainee halal meal was provided to the defendant by the Joint Task Force during the lunch recess. The defendant complained that his lunch did not include condiments such as olives and honey,” US Navy Capt. Robert Durand, Director of Public Affairs, Joint Task Force Guantánamo, said in a statement. 
 
 All five defendants are facing a military tribunal on charges that they helped plan and/or help with logistics in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that left nearly 3,000 dead. If convicted they face the death penalty. 
 
 At a hearing on Monday, another defendant, Walid Bin Attash, complained that he was too ill to remain in the courtroom. 
 
 His lawyer said he wanted to remain present during the hearing, but that a stomach condition was too painful. The judge called an early recess to the public portion of the hearing. 
 
 It was not clear what might happen if Mr. Bin Attash was still feeling sick on Tuesday but did not want to waive his right to be present. That issue did not arise since Bin Attash told a detention camp official early Tuesday that he did not want to attend that day’s court hearing. 
 
 The pre-trial hearings are set to continue through Friday. ||||| A defendant in the Sept. 11 terror attack case alleged Tuesday that guards at Guantanamo Bay have been withholding food when he is in court or meeting with his lawyers. Military officials denied that has happened. 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2012 file photo reviewed by the U.S. Department of Defense, towers overlooking a U.S. detention facility are silhouetted against a morning sunrise at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval... (Associated Press) 
 
 The charge by Ramzi bin al Shibh came as he angrily explained to the military judge in his case why he did not want to attend the afternoon session on the second day of a weeklong pretrial hearing at the U.S. base in Cuba. 
 
 "It is a form of psychological torture," he said. 
 
 The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, has been allowing the five defendants to skip sessions of their pretrial hearings, but he has said they will be required to attend their actual trial, which is likely at least a year away. The other four defendants had already decided not to come to court Tuesday. 
 
 A spokesman for the Guantanamo Bay prison, Navy Capt. Robert Durand, later said bin al Shibh was provided with a "freshly prepared meal" that met Muslim dietary standards, but "the defendant complained that his lunch did not include condiments such as olives and honey." 
 
 The allegation from bin al Shibh, a Yemeni accused of aiding the hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, was a rare lively moment in a day that was otherwise devoted to lengthy arguments over aspects of a protective order that governs the handling of classified evidence in the complex terrorism trial. 
 
 Lawyers for the five prisoners believe the rules as written make it harder for them to mount a defense based around the men's harsh treatment while in CIA custody. The arguments were expected to continue Wednesday. 
 
 The five prisoners facing trial in the case include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has portrayed himself as the mastermind of the terrorist plot, and all of them face charges that include terrorism and murder. They could get the death penalty if convicted.
– A 9/11 defendant abruptly asked to leave a pre-trial hearing yesterday, alleging that there had been "problems between me and the guards on a daily basis" revolving around food. Ramzi bin al-Shibh was the only 9/11 defendant who had decided to attend the hearings; the other four had opted to stay in their Guantanamo Bay cells. "I cannot remain here," bin al-Shibh told the judge, according to the Christian Science Monitor. "There are problems with the food." Bin al-Shibh didn't specify what those problems were, but he did say that in some cases (such as during lunch-hour meetings with his lawyers) he hadn't been provided any lunch at all. "This is one sort of psychological torture." He said it had bothered "the brothers as well," meaning his co-defendants. A military spokesman tells the AP that bin al-Shibh got a "freshly prepared meal" every day that met his religious requirements. But "the defendant complained that his lunch did not include condiments such as olives and honey."