SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A U.S. military judge Tuesday ordered separate hearings Tuesday for five men accused in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, responding to complaints the attacks' alleged mastermind intimidated others, defence lawyers said.

Judge Ralph Kohlmann, a U.S. marine colonel, scheduled individual appearances for each of the five men at pretrial hearings at Guantanamo Bay next week to address whether they want help from Pentagon-appointed lawyers.

All five said they would represent themselves when they were arraigned together last month at the U.S. navy base in southeastern Cuba but lawyers for Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi alleged former al-Qaida No. 3 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed put pressure on him to go along.

"My opinion is the judge is doing what's right," said U.S. army Maj. Jon Jackson, the lead lawyer for al-Hawsawi.

"He's allowing them to make a decision about who they want as a lawyer without others being around to influence that decision."

The five defendants face the death penalty if convicted by the military tribunal, the first U.S. attempt to prosecute those believed to be directly responsible for killing 2,973 people in the 2001 attacks.

The judge's order was not released publicly. A spokesman for the tribunal system, U.S. air force Capt. Andre Kok, said he could not immediately comment.

Judge Kohlmann said he did not know defendants would be allowed to talk among themselves during the arraignment June 5. He ordered the format changed to determine the role intimidation played at that hearing, Jackson said.

Jackson said his client al-Hawsawi, who allegedly helped provide the Sept. 11 hijackers with money and western clothing, wants his military lawyers at his side but was intimidated by other defendants who asked him questions like: "So, you're in the army now?"

The defendants also passed notes, chuckled and spoke in Arabic with one another during the arraignment - a rare social opportunity for men who have been held in a top-secret prison at Guantanamo since they were transferred out of CIA custody in 2006.

Other pretrial hearings and the trial itself are expected to proceed with all five co-defendants appearing at separate defence tables aligned in a row inside a high-security courthouse.

Kohlmann also said he was unaware Ramzi Binalshibh, the alleged main intermediary between the 19 hijackers and al-Qaida leaders, was shackled around the ankles during the arraignment. He called on the military to give him advance notice when such measures are required, defence lawyers said.

Binalshibh's lawyer, U.S. navy Cmdr. Suzanne Lachelier, said she was told the shackles were a precaution because her client is medicated with psychotropic drugs. She said she does not yet know why they were prescribed.

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