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Military Appeals Court Upholds Plea Deals for 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Opting for Life Imprisonment

Dec 31, 2024, 02:39 PM

A military appeals court has upheld plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, and two other defendants involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks, overruling Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's attempt to nullify these agreements. The deals, which were reached after two years of negotiations, would allow Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi to plead guilty in exchange for life imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay instead of facing the death penalty. The court's decision reverses Austin's order from late last summer, which sought to reject the plea agreements due to the gravity of the attacks. The ruling paves the way for a guilty plea hearing to proceed, marking a significant development in a case that has been ongoing since 2012 and has been complicated by issues related to CIA torture of the defendants.