Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration, asserting the “interests of justice,” is seeking a 120-day pause in military war-crimes tribunals of suspected terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

A military judge today granted the prosecution’s request to delay the murder trial of Omar Ahmed Khadr, a Canadian who was 15 when he was taken into U.S. custody in 2002 and later accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan with a grenade during a fire fight. The judge’s action was confirmed in court papers released by the Office of Military Commissions.

Another judge is considering the government’s request to freeze the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self- described architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and four other detainees accused of participating in the plot.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters he expects the judge to delay that case. Four of the five men opposed the government’s move and asked for their trials to continue, Agence France-Presse reported.

Whitman said the requests for delay would permit “a comprehensive review” of the Guantanamo cases. He declined to say whether it would be the first step by the Obama administration toward closing the prison. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, issued the directive seeking the delays on orders from President Barack Obama, who is spending his first full day in the White House.

A Thorough Review

Military prosecutors said in court papers their purpose is to “permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military commission process” and the 21 cases now before the military commissions.

The evaluation will determine whether prosecution of detainees not eligible for release or transfer to another country “may be warranted,” the papers said. Prosecutors have said they may bring charges against as many as 60 other detainees at Guantanamo.

At Senate confirmation hearings last week, Eric Holder, Obama’s nominee to be attorney general, said some of the 245 detainees at Guantanamo may be tried in federal court. Military commissions, which Obama has previously criticized as flawed, would only be used if “substantially revamped” to provide detainees with more due-process rights, Holder said.

Military prosecutors said in court papers that “changes in the military commissions process might inure to the benefit of the accused.”

Khadr’s lawyers didn’t object to the delay. Human rights activists say he shouldn’t be tried because he is accused of committing war crimes as a child.

Mohammed and his fellow defendants in the Sept. 11 terrorist case have offered to plead guilty and face the death penalty.

The judge in that case, Army Colonel Stephen Henley, has declined to accept any guilty pleas while he examines the mental state of two of the defendants, Ramzi Binalshibh and Mustafa al Hawsawi. The judge is trying to determine whether the two have the mental capacity to knowingly waive assistance of defense counsel.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 21, 2009 11:52 EST