The Department of Defense claims three individuals accused of planning the September 11, 2001, strikes on the US have reached a 9/11 attack pre-trial agreement. Years without a trial have seen Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsafi imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Although the specifics of the agreement are unknown, the men will plead guilty to avoid the death sentence.
Nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania were murdered in the strikes, which set off the “War on Terror” and later invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Concerned about the 9/11 attack pre-trial agreement, Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, said relatives of the victims are “deeply troubled” by the lack of openness. He demanded more research into Saudi Arabia’s participation in the strikes.
Terry Strada, who lost her husband Tom, expressed her frustration, describing the plea deal as a “gut-punch.” Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, criticized the deal as a “victory” for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants.
Disclosed through a letter to victims families, the pre-trial agreement might see a court appearance as early as next week. The US Defense Department has not made the agreement’s terms public. Among the other counts the individuals face include hijacking and terrorism. Often credited with planning the assaults, authorities captured Mohammed in Pakistan in March 2003.
Delays in the trial stem partly from concerns that the interrogation methods, labeled as torture, might compromise the evidence.
