Pentagon prosecutors are working on a deal that will SAVE 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his accomplices from death penalty before his Guantanamo Bay trial
- Guilty pleas in exchange for a life sentence could finally bring to a close the over two decade-long case, the longest ever at the war court
- The cases have been bogged down in pretrial proceedings due to the CIA’s use of terrorism, but plea agreements could ignite fury from 9/11 families
- The al-Qaeda terrorists have been charged with terrorism; hijacking aircraft; conspiracy; murder in violation of the law of war; attacking civilians and more
- The five men were allegedly directly involved with hijacking four airplanes and carrying out the coordinated attacks across the US that led to the death of 2,977
Pentagon prosecutors are reportedly in talks with attorneys for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants about a plea agreement that could eliminate the prospect of the death penalty.
Guilty pleas in exchange for a life sentence could finally bring to a close the over two decade-long case, the longest ever at the war court.
Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi were all expected to face the death penalty if convicted. Their charges include: terrorism; hijacking aircraft; conspiracy; murder in violation of the law of war; attacking civilians; attacking civilian objects; intentionally causing serious bodily injury; and destruction of property in violation of the law of war.
The al-Qaeda terrorists are accused of hijacking four airplanes and carrying out the coordinated attacks across the US that led to the death of 2,977 plus hundreds more who have died in subsequent years from breathing in toxic particles that were released in the rubble of the attacks.
A lead prosecutor, Clayton Trivett Jr., wrote last week to the defense teams proposing they discuss ‘whether pretrial agreements are possible in all five cases.’
‘While I cannot guarantee that we will come to terms over these next two weeks putting a concerted effort focused solely on possible agreements while we are all onboard Guantánamo, where your clients and teams are present, may be our best chance of at least determining if deals can be reached,’ the email said, according to the New York Times.
Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has in recent years been pictured looking slimmer with a long beard than he did at the time of the attack
Participants in the discussions reportedly said that the defense lawyers put together a list of requirements for a guilty plea that began with eliminating the death penalty. Once the prosecution and the defense come to an agreement on the deal, it must be signed off by a senior Pentagon official – National Guard Col. Jeffrey Wood. Participants said the talks would go on throughout the month to try to reach a deal to present to Wood.
The case against the five men has been bogged down in pre-trial proceedings due to the CIA’s use of torture to extract evidence from the defendants and to Covid-19 delays. Nearly a decade after the men’s arraignment, the military judge has yet to set a trial start date.
Guilty pleas that result in life sentences could complicate President Biden’s promise to shut down Guantanamo Bay. The facility has become more and more secretive over its 20 years of operation, even as it costs taxpayers millions of dollars per year.
Thirty-eight prisoners still remain at Guantanamo, and both the accused 9/11 plotters and many members of Congress are opposed to closing the prison. Ten have been charged but not yet tried.
Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash (left) is accused of training the hijackers to fight, while Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, now 53, from Saudi Arabia, is accused of giving financial backing to the group
Ramzi Bin al-Shibh (left) and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (right) are both accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks
The White House has refused to take a position on the cases, according to the Times, but said that Biden remains dedicated to reducing the detainee population at the prison, including by settling cases through pretrial agreements if necessary.
Congress has already forbid bringing the 9/11 plotters on U.S. soil, and the plotters themselves have demanded to stay at Guantanamo, where they can pray and eat in groups. They do not want to be sent to the supermax prison in Florence, Colo., where federal inmates are held in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.
A plea deal is sure to ignite fury from some of the family members of the victims who have demanded justice through capital punishment. Another issue is whether some of the accused accomplices who did not have as direct a role as the five men would be given even lesser sentences.
Meanwhile, defense lawyers have argued that the U.S. government lost the moral and legal authority to execute the defendants because of torture. Psychologists leading interrogations for the CIA waterboarded Mohammed 183 times. Agents were also known to strip defendants, beat them, tie them up in chains and subject them to rectal abuse and sleep deprivation in so-called CIA black sites.
Guantanamo has reportedly cost U.S. taxpayers over $6 billion since its inception.
American taxpayers spend roughly between $9.5 and $13 million per prisoner, per year. The prison currently has 38 inmates. That’s compared to $78,000 spent per inmate at a ‘super-max’ prison in Florence, Colo., home to some of the highest-risk prisoners in the U.S.
The cost has risen dramatically over the years – a 2013 Defense Department report calculated the per-prisoner detention cost at only $2.7 million.
In recent years, officials at Guantanamo have forbidden photography of sites that were once routinely shown to visitors and restricted access for reporters to prison facilities.
Two men, Sanad Yislam al-Kazimi and Assadullah Haroon Gulone Yemeni, one considered to be Osama Bin Laden’s bodyguard and one Afghan commander who fought alongside al-Qaeda, were approved for a transfer out of Guantanamo for rehabilitation in October.
Another 12 men could be eligible for release if the US State Department could reach an agreement with a receiving nation to impose security protocols, such as restricting their ability to travel abroad.
Meanwhile, another 12 are in the midst of military commission proceedings and 15 are held as ‘law of war’ prisoners, with no plan for release due to their alleged role in the 9/11 attacks.
About 770 men and boys have been held at Guantanamo as war prisoners, with prison population peaking at 677 in 2003.
The Bush administration, which opened the prison after 9/11, released 540 detainees, mostly repatriating them back to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The Obama administration released another 200. Trump placed an effective hold on releases.
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