'Stage Set for 9/11 Show Trial'

So I read an article that talked about the upcoming trial of the five men accused of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The article stated that the men will plead not guilty so that they would have a chance to "air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy". According to one of the defendant's lawyer, "the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks, but would explain what happened and why they did it". Furthermore, the men will give their assessment of American foreign policy, and their assessment is negative". Really?!?! I can imagine that their assessment of U.S. foreign policy would be negative, but do we even really care what they think??
Many critics have warned that the upcoming trial would provide the defendants with a propaganda platform. I feel that this article fit well into the topic of "mass media and politics" because we all know the media will cover every part of the trial they possibly can. Also, in my opinion, the critiques that will be provided by the defendants concerning U.S. foreign policy could potentially give rise to much conflict and controversy. According to one critic, "we hope that the trial proceedings are conducted appropriately and with minimal disrupton, as federal courts have done in the past".
I think it will be interesting to see how the trial plays out and whether or not it will be as controversial as many believe. I know the media will provide the public will coverage of the trial, so it will also be interesting to see how much dramatization or sensationalism is employed. Above all, however, I think that the trials are held in order to find out whether defendants are guilty or not guilty; not to hear about their opinions on policy issues.