TERROR
Alleged 9/11 plotters reach plea deals to avoid death penalty
August 1, 2024 - The man accused of plotting the Sep 11, 2001 attacks, and two of his co-defendants, will be spared the death penalty as part of a plea agreement that aims to end years of legal wrangling over his detention.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi have been held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for years without going to trial.
Details of the deal have not been announced, but U.S. news outlets say the men will plead guilty in exchange for the prosecution agreeing not to seek the death penalty.
The proceedings have been marred in legal and ethical controversy over the length of the defendants’ custody without trial and instances of torture.
The U.S. Senate has published reports that include information on waterboarding of some prisoners, including Mohammed.
The announcement marks a turning point in the prosecution of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Planes that departed Boston Logan, Dulles and Newark international airports were hijacked and later crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people