Janice R. Andrews
The accused mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two other defendants, Walid Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi, have entered into a plea agreement with the United States. The three offenders are spared the death penalty as a result of this pretrial deal, according to the Defense Department.
The Settlement of Pleas
After 27 months of discussions, the agreement was reached, and Mohammed and his co-defendants must enter a guilty plea to all counts, including the killing of 2,976 people during the 2001 attacks. In a letter acquired by CNN, the families of 9/11 victims and survivors were informed of this information, and the Department of Defense formally disclosed it in a press statement on Wednesday night.
“We recognize that the status of the case in general, and this news in particular, will understandably and appropriately elicit intense emotion,” the attorneys said in their letter. “The decision to enter into a pre-trial agreement after 12 years of pre-trial litigation was not reached lightly; however, it is our collective, reasoned, and good-faith judgment that this resolution is the best path to finality and justice in this case.”
A Difficult Legal Battle
The lengthy and intricate trial that might have resulted in Mohammed’s execution has been resolved by the plea deal. Expert on terrorism and national security commentator for CNN Peter Bergen said the government was up against big obstacles in trying to push a case that had been stagnant for twenty years. Bergen said, “This is the least bad deal in the real world that would ever happen.”
Mohammed faced numerous charges in 2008, including conspiracy, murder committed against the law of war, attacking civilians or civilian-related objects, causing deliberate harm to oneself or another person, destroying property against the law of war, terrorism, and providing material support to terrorists. At first, the US requested that he be executed. The trial, however, was further delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak and the departure of two judges because of legal concerns over the CIA’s use of torture during interrogations in the 2000s.
The Legal Process’s Next Steps
It is anticipated that Mohammed and his co-defendants would enter guilty pleas during a hearing that might start as early as next week. Even though they entered guilty pleas, they will still be subject to a sentencing hearing where evidence will be used to support punishments that don’t include the death penalty. It seems unlikely that this hearing will happen before summer of next year.
The families were advised by the prosecutors that they could be able to speak during the sentencing hearings on the effects of the September 11 attacks. The military jury will take victim impact comments into account while deciding on penalties.
Families’ Reactions
The relatives of the 9/11 victims had differing opinions on the plea agreement. The president of 9/11 Justice, Brett Eagleson, urged for additional information regarding Saudi Arabia’s role in the attacks and voiced his grave concerns about the plea deals. “We recognize the decision to forgo the death penalty, but our main concern is still getting information from these people,” he said. The system of closed-door agreements shouldn’t be sustained by these plea deals.”
9/11 Families United national chair Terry Strada called the announcement a “gut punch.” When the news emerged, Strada was in a Manhattan federal courtroom for a hearing on the families’ ongoing legal dispute with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She expressed her doubts about the timing of the revelation of the plea agreement. “No family member knew this was coming,” she stated. “In our whole case, today is the most important day. The most significant day in our 23-year quest for justice about the killing of our family members. And they extend a plea agreement to those folks.”
Guantanamo Bay Detainees’ Future
Where Mohammed and his co-defendants will serve out their sentences is yet unknown. Closing the Guantanamo Bay detention prison in Cuba, where the defendants have been detained, has been a top priority for the Biden administration. Many inmates are still there, although those who were judged to be no longer serious risks to national security have been sent home.
Final Thoughts
An important step has been taken in the hunt for justice in relation to the 9/11 attacks with the plea agreement. It offers a way to put an end to a convoluted and drawn-out legal struggle, but it also leaves the relatives of the victims with unanswered questions and unresolved feelings. The families will work to make sure that the complete truth about the horrific events of September 11, 2001, is not lost in the judicial process.
