US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Cancels Plea Deals for 9/11 Plotters at Guantanamo Bay
Washington [US], August 3: United States Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked plea deals agreed to earlier this week with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused, who have been accused of plotting the September 11 attacks and are being held at the military prison in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay.
A statement by the Pentagon on Friday said without elaborating on the details that plea deals had been entered into. “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements,” Austin wrote in a memo to Susan Escallier, who oversees the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court.
“I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused…responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin wrote.
Escallier had signed the pre-trial agreement of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, also referred to as KSM, on July 31, 2024. The memo written by Austin named four other defendants: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. Plea deals had also been reached by two other detainees: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
According to a report in the New York Times, the three had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for a life sentence, instead of facing a trial that could lead to their executions.
Guantanamo Bay was set up in 2002 by then-US President George Bush to house foreign militant suspects following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the plot to fly hijacked commercial passenger aircraft into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and plunged the United States into a war in Afghanistan.
Several Republican lawmakers, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, strongly criticized the plea deals. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace. The plea deal with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, is a revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility to defend America and provide justice,” McConnell said in a post on X.
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US Defense Secretary -: The US Defense Secretary is the head of the Department of Defense in the United States. This person is in charge of the military and making important decisions about national security.
Lloyd Austin -: Lloyd Austin is the current US Defense Secretary. He is a retired four-star general in the US Army.
Plea deals -: Plea deals are agreements in legal cases where the accused agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge or to one of several charges in exchange for a lighter sentence.
9/11 Plotters -: The 9/11 plotters are people accused of planning the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which involved hijacking airplanes and crashing them into buildings in the US.
Guantanamo Bay -: Guantanamo Bay is a US military prison located in Cuba. It is used to detain people accused of terrorism and other serious crimes.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is one of the main people accused of planning the 9/11 attacks. He is currently held at Guantanamo Bay.
Susan Escallier -: Susan Escallier is a legal official who signed the plea deals for the 9/11 plotters. She works in the US military justice system.
Death penalty -: The death penalty is a legal punishment where a person is sentenced to death for committing a very serious crime.
Republican lawmakers -: Republican lawmakers are members of the Republican Party in the US government. They make and vote on laws.
Mitch McConnell -: Mitch McConnell is a senior Republican lawmaker in the US. He has been a leader in the US Senate for many years.
