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, including Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, are scheduled to appear at a hearing in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where they are expected to plead guilty to lesser charges that could spare them the death penalty. The details of the plea agreement are unclear, but the accused negotiated with the Convening Authority for Military Commissions to reach this agreement.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others were initially charged in 2008 in connection with their alleged roles in the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and has been held with other Al Qaeda detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Defense lawyers have criticized the government for delays in the legal process, with some attributing the delays to the government’s efforts to cover up details of detainee torture at secret CIA prisons.
Amnesty International USA has called the plea agreement “welcome news” that will bring some accountability for the 9/11 attacks and justice for its victims and survivors. Daphne Eviatar, director of the group’s Security with Human Rights program, stated that the announcement should signal the “beginning of the end” for the military prison in Guantánamo Bay. The Biden administration has expressed a desire to close the facility, with the number of detainees decreasing significantly in recent years.
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