An effort to prosecute five men held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack has hit another snag.

A two-week pretrial hearing scheduled to start Tuesday was abruptly canceled late last week by the military judge presiding over the case after he received a confidential notice from Justice Department lawyers.

The document is sealed. Its contents have not been disclosed to prosecutors or the defense. But defense lawyer James Harrington says there are signs the case appears to be back in the “limbo” stage again.

The Justice Department declined comment.

The five prisoners include the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. They could get the death penalty if convicted at a tribunal known as a military commission.

(AP)