Court Halts 9/11 Plea Deals for Guantanamo Detainees
Court Blocks 9/11 Plea Deals, Backs Defense Secretary’s Decision
WASHINGTON – A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the Pentagon’s decision to withdraw plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and two accomplices, citing the defense secretary’s authority in such matters.
Last year, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin scrapped the plea agreements days after they were announced, insisting that the American public and families of 9/11 victims deserved to see full military commission trials. The agreements, which included co-defendants Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, had aimed to resolve the long-delayed proceedings at Guantanamo Bay.
Judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao ruled Friday that Austin acted lawfully and overturned a military judge’s previous ruling, which had upheld the agreements. The appeals court also barred further hearings based on the withdrawn plea deals.
The case has dragged on for years due to pre-trial disputes and concerns over CIA torture, which the plea agreements would have sidestepped. Mohammed, a trained engineer captured in Pakistan in 2003, was detained in secret CIA sites for three years before being transferred to Guantanamo in 2006.
Guantanamo Bay was established to detain terror suspects outside U.S. jurisdiction. Once holding nearly 800 detainees, only a handful now remain.
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