US Court Cancels Death Penalty Avoidance Agreement for Mastermind of 9/11 Attacks

An American appeals court has issued a decision to cancel the plea agreement that would have prevented the execution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of planning the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with two others, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. The decision was made by a narrow majority with judges voting 2 to 1, reinstating the former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's decision to cancel these deals in August 2024.

The court relied on the fact that Austin "acted within his legal authority," according to Judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao, while the third judge opposed this approach. It is worth noting that the plea agreement would have allowed the defendants to avoid the death penalty by admitting involvement in the attacks and accepting life imprisonment, but Austin withdrew the deal two days after announcing it, stating that "the victims' families, our servicemembers, and Americans deserve the opportunity to see military trials in this case."

The canceled agreement sparked widespread controversy, especially among the families of the attack victims, and highlighted legal issues surrounding the fairness of military trials, particularly after the suspects were subjected to torture in CIA secret facilities.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, captured in Pakistan in 2003, is considered one of the top leaders of Al-Qaeda and the main planner of the attacks, while bin Attash is accused of training the attackers and being involved in the USS Cole bombing, and al-Hawsawi is suspected of funding the operations.

These defendants remain among the few remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay, which has seen a gradual release of most detainees since its opening as part of the "war on terror." Legal battles over their fate are expected to continue, amid questions about the possibility of a fair trial more than two decades after the events.