U.S. court rejects plea agreement for “9/11 Mastermind” Khalil Sheikh Mohammed

The split federal appeals court has filed a plea agreement that will allow the alleged “9/11 Mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other co-defendants to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

A Washington, D.C. judge rejected the agreement in Friday’s 2-1 sentence that would have sentenced Mohammed and other defendants to life imprisonment.

Mohammed was accused of organizing and directing the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States, and the hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. He was arrested in 2003 and was held in Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. prison camp in Cuba.

Under the agreement, families of victims of 9/11 will be allowed to ask questions to Mohammed, who will be asked to “answer their questions completely and truthfully”, the lawyer said.

The victim’s relatives were allocated on the deal, according to CBS News, a U.S. partner of the BBC.

Those who oppose the judgment are the best way to justice and find out more about the attack.

Supporters think this is the best hope to get some answers and end the painful case.

The plea agreement was negotiated for two years and was approved by military prosecutors in Guantanamo Bay and senior Pentagon officials.

The pretrial hearing has been going on for more than a decade, complicating the questions Mohammed and other defendants faced during their detention in the United States.

After being arrested in Pakistan in 2003, Mohammed spent three years in the CIA’s secret prison called the “Black Site”, where he was simulated drowning or “water plate” (183 times), as well as other so-called “advanced interrogation techniques” that included sleep deprivation and compulsory nudity.

Last July, the Biden administration announced a deal with Mohammed and three other co-defendants.

But then, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vetoed the agreement two days later, saying he was the only power to sign such an agreement.

The military court opposed Austin’s efforts in December to rule that the agreement avoided a re-sentence on the death penalty.

On Friday, the appeals court dropped the deal, saying Austin was acting under his authority in December 2024.

“With the right responsibility for the convening agency, the Secretary determines that the family and the American public should have the opportunity to see the Military Commission conduct a trial.” The Secretary acts within the scope of its legal authority and we refuse to speculate for the second time.

Judge Robert Wilkins disagreed, saying the government “has not proved that a military judge made a mistake within a mile.”