Plea deal reached with 9/11 'mastermind' Khalid Sheikh: US
1. Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for a life sentence, reports NYT
In a significant development, US prosecutors have reached a deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. The agreement reportedly includes a guilty plea in exchange for avoiding a death penalty trial.
This deal, along with agreements involving two other accused, moves their long-running cases closer to resolution after years of pre-trial delays while they were held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.
The Pentagon's statement did not provide details of the deal, but the New York Times reported that Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for life sentences, avoiding a potential death penalty trial.
This proposal, outlined by prosecutors last year, has divided the families of the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, with some still seeking the ultimate penalty for the defendants.
A major issue in the legal proceedings has been whether the men could be fairly tried after being subjected to torture by the CIA post-9/11—a complex question that these plea deals help circumvent.
Mohammed, considered one of Osama bin Laden's most trusted lieutenants, was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and spent three years in secret CIA prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006. A trained engineer, he has claimed to have masterminded the 9/11 attacks and was involved in several significant plots against the US, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
Bin Attash, a Saudi of Yemeni origin, allegedly trained two of the 9/11 hijackers and played a role in the attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors. He was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and held in CIA prisons before being transferred to Guantanamo.
Hawsawi, suspected of managing finances for the 9/11 attacks, was also arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and held in secret prisons before his transfer to Guantanamo.
Guantanamo Bay, used to detain militants captured during the "War on Terror" to avoid granting them US legal rights, has held up to 800 prisoners at its peak. Although many have since been repatriated, the facility remains open, despite President Joe Biden's campaign pledge to close it.
In a related 9/11 case, the Justice Department denied a request from Zacarias Moussaoui, known as the "20th hijacker," to serve the remainder of his life sentence in France. Moussaoui, the only person convicted in the US in connection with the September 11 attacks, expressed fears of execution if Donald Trump regains the presidency. The Justice Department confirmed Moussaoui would continue to serve his life sentence in US custody.
