9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: In view of the massive public protest in America, the Defense Department has taken a big step. In fact, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday canceled the plea agreement with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, which talked about abolishing the death penalty. The US Defense Department has taken this U-turn just two days after the announcement of the agreement.
According to the information, the US had announced an agreement with Mohammed and his two alleged associates on Wednesday (31 July 2024). After this agreement, it seemed that now the long-running cases of these main accused would move towards resolution, but some relatives of those killed on September 11, 2001 came out against this agreement and opposed it. In view of the massive protest, the agreement was canceled.
What did the US Defense Secretary say?
“I have determined that given the importance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused… the responsibility for such a decision should rest with me,” Austin said in a memo addressed to Susan Escalier, who oversees the case. “I withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements signed on your behalf in the above referenced case on July 31, 2024,” the memo said. The cases against the 9/11 accused have been tangled for years while the accused remain in custody at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.
What did the New York Times say in its report?
According to the New York Times report, Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for life sentences, rather than face a trial that could lead to the death penalty. Much of the legal wrangling surrounding the three defendants’ cases has centered on whether they could be tried fairly after having suffered systematic torture at the hands of the CIA in the years following 9/11.
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