9/11 Mastermind
In a significant development, US prosecutors have reached a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to a Pentagon announcement on Wednesday.
The agreement reportedly involves Mohammed pleading guilty in exchange for avoiding a death penalty trial, potentially bringing an end to a long-running legal battle.
This plea deal, which also includes two other accused individuals, moves their cases toward resolution after years of delays and pre-trial maneuvers.
The defendants, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba, have seen their cases mired in legal complexities for years. The Pentagon has indicated that specific details of the agreement will not be made public immediately.
The New York Times reported that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, along with co-defendants Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges.
In exchange, they would receive life sentences rather than facing the death penalty, which had been a potential outcome if their cases proceeded to trial.
This plea deal had been previously proposed by prosecutors but faced opposition from some families of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks, who were seeking the death penalty for the defendants.
The plea deal helps sidestep the contentious issue of whether the defendants could receive a fair trial, given their history of being tortured by the CIA in the aftermath of the attacks—a significant legal and ethical challenge that has complicated their cases.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and later held in secret CIA prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006, has claimed responsibility for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks.
He also alleges involvement in other major attacks, including the 2002 beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Walid bin Attash, a Saudi of Yemeni descent, is alleged to have trained the hijackers responsible for the 9/11 attacks and confessed to purchasing explosives for attacks on the USS Cole.
He was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and held in secret prisons before being transferred to Guantanamo. Mustafa al-Hawsawi is suspected of managing the finances for the 9/11 attacks, and he too was arrested in Pakistan and held in secret CIA facilities before his transfer to Guantanamo.
The plea deal reflects the broader challenges associated with the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, which was used to house militants captured during the “War on Terror” following 9/11.
Although President Joe Biden had pledged to close Guantanamo, it remains operational. The facility once held 800 prisoners but has since seen a reduction in its population as detainees are repatriated to their home countries.
In another related case, the Justice Department has denied a request from Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called “20th hijacker,” to serve the remainder of his life sentence in France.
Moussaoui, the only individual convicted in the US in connection with the 9/11 attacks, expressed concerns about facing execution if Donald Trump were to return to the presidency.
The Justice Department has affirmed its intention to enforce Moussaoui’s life sentence in US custody, rejecting his transfer request.
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