Military Appeals Court Rejects Pentagon Chief's Attempt to Dismiss 9/11 Plea Agreements

A military appeals court has rejected Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's attempt to nullify plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 attacks, a US official disclosed. This decision revives agreements that would see the men plead guilty to the attacks in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. The attacks by al-Qaida on September 11, 2001, resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and led to US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Military prosecutors and defence attorneys for Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, along with two co-defendants, reached these plea agreements after two years of negotiations approved by the government. These deals were announced late last summer. Supporters view them as a way to resolve the complex legal case against the men at the US military commission at Guantanamo Bay.

Plea Agreements and Legal Challenges

Pretrial hearings for Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi have been ongoing for over a decade. Much of the pretrial debate has centred on how torture during CIA custody might affect evidence in the case. Within days of the plea deal news this summer, Austin issued an order nullifying them. He argued that due to the severity of the 9/11 attacks, he should decide on any plea agreements sparing defendants from execution.

Defence lawyers contended that Austin lacked legal authority to overturn a decision already approved by Guantanamo's top authority. They argued this amounted to unlawful interference in the case. The military judge handling the 9/11 case, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, agreed that Austin lacked standing to discard the plea bargains once underway, prompting an appeal from the Defence Department.

Repatriation Efforts at Guantanamo

Separately, the Pentagon announced it had repatriated Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi, one of Guantanamo's longest-held detainees. Al-Yazidi's return to Tunisia leaves 26 men at Guantanamo, down from about 700 Muslim men detained there after September 11. His repatriation leaves 14 men awaiting transfer to other countries after US authorities cleared them as security risks without prosecution.

The Biden administration has faced pressure from rights groups to release remaining detainees held without charge at Guantanamo. This month, three other men were transferred out. The US is actively seeking stable countries willing to accept the remaining 14 detainees.

Future Legal Proceedings

Austin may now take his effort to nullify the plea deals to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Pentagon has not yet responded to requests for comment on this matter. Meanwhile, seven detainees at Guantanamo, including Mohammed and his co-defendants, face active cases. Two others have been convicted and sentenced by military commissions.

The US military stated it worked with Tunisian authorities for al-Yazidi's "responsible transfer." He had been detained at Guantanamo since 2002 when Muslim detainees began arriving there from abroad. Al-Yazidi was the last of a dozen Tunisian men once held at Guantanamo.