9/11 Families Demand Military Trials for Gitmo Detainees

Mary Novotny, 72,  says she never thought she'd become an activist but as the White House evaluates how to close the detention facility on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she is riling up families of Sept. 11, 2001 victims to demand military trials for the remaining detainees.

Novotny, whose son Brian was killed while in his office on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower, told Fox News that she thinks he'd be proud she has stepped up to the plate.

"I promised Brian I would be in the courtroom for these trials if we ever got justice, that I would be there as his witness and just to sit in the courtroom was good for me to do," she said, noting she's done just that.

"The defendants never came out of their cell and we never saw them but we did see the actual courtroom and that was fulfilling for me to be in the courtroom," she said.

Novotny, a retired nurse, is now sending e-mails to other Sept. 11 families, contacting journalists for the first time in her life and has even written President Obama for continuing tribunals.

"I never got a response to my letter, I don't know if he saw it, so I plan to write again though," she said, adding, "I am not very good about being interviewed, I've never been on television but it's very close to my heart."

Five Sept. 11 suspects, including alleged architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, are waiting in their prison cells at Guantanamo Bay, for a decision on their fates.

The deadline is less than four weeks away and some Sept. 11 families say they are concerned they are not being heard and that the administration's decision will be a done deal with no turning back.

Novotny said their wait increases a sense of urgency. She said she is frustrated with the administration, and she is not alone.

"It was really frustrating. I didn't go in there prepared for what, how frustrated I'd be afterward, .
said Melissa Long, who lost her boyfriend in the terror attacks.

Long described a June meeting where the administration updated the families.

"They listened, only one of them took notes. And the rest of them took flak, they took a lot of heat there was a lot of questions gone unanswered."

Administration sources insist every effort is being made to keep the Sept. 11 families in the loop, emphasizing that Attorney General Eric Holder has personally met with the families. A Justice Department spokesman insisted every effort is being made to include the victims' families and others.

"The task forces welcome this input," reads a statement. "Capturing a wide variety of views on issues related to detention policy and Guantanamo Bay will only help the task forces make more informed decisions and recommendations."

Novotny said she thinks the administration prefers to let such an important story fly under the radar because "they want to avoid a controversy."