Three men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks, including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, have reached plea agreements in the military commissions process. The defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, are scheduled to appear at a hearing at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, next week to plead guilty to lesser charges that could spare them the death penalty. The plea agreement was negotiated between the accused, their attorneys, and the Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier.
Mohammed and other defendants were initially charged in 2008 for their alleged roles in the attacks, with Mohammed facing war crimes and murder charges related to the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks. Defense lawyers have criticized the government for delays in their cases, with some attributing the delays to efforts to cover up details of torture of detainees at secret CIA prisons.
Amnesty International USA welcomed the plea agreement as a step towards accountability for the 9/11 attacks and justice for its victims and survivors. The organization also expressed relief that the accused, who were tortured and detained without trial for over two decades, are finally seeing an outcome. The announcement of the plea agreement is seen as a potential step towards the closure of the Guantánamo Bay military prison, as the Biden administration has sought to quietly close the facility, with the number of detainees decreasing to 30 by last year.
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