Plea deals for 9/11 masterminds upheld by military courtBy
Jenny Goldsberry
December 31, 2024 11:38 am
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lost his appeal to throw out plea deals for three men involved in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
A U.S. official confirmed on the condition of anonymity to the Associated Press that a military appeals court is upholding the plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mustafa al Hawsaw, and Walid bin Attash. As a result, the three defendants will be given the opportunity to plead guilty to the terrorist attack over 20 years after the fact.
All three men were held at the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, where there have been reports of torture. The alleged torture complicates the defendants’ trials, as it could discredit the case. As a result, prosecutors sought plea deals in the cases, which began over a decade ago.
Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors are not able to pursue the death penalty for the three men, which drew outrage from the general public. Instead, they would be obliged to answer questions from family members of those affected by 9/11 submitted on a specific website.
In September 2023, Austin prompted President Joe Biden to reject an initial plea deal, which prohibited solitary confinement for the defendants and included health treatment for their alleged injuries from the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogations. After months of negotiations, the Pentagon announced new plea deals in July, which still prohibited the death penalty.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3272918/plea-deals-9-11-masterminds-upheld/
