- 9/11 Planner to plead guilty
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and other co-defendants are reportedly reaching a plea agreement with the U.S. government, according to U.S. defense officials. Mohammed and two other defendants have agreed to such a deal, the U.S. Department of Defense announced. The specific details have not been made public, nor has the further procedure been clarified. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has been detained at the notorious U.S. military prison Guantánamo Bay in Cuba for years, would reportedly avoid the death penalty through this agreement.
On September 11, 2001, the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil to date resulted in around 3,000 deaths. Islamic terrorists hijacked three passenger planes, crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington D.C. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is considered the mastermind behind these attacks and is said to have handled the communication and financing of the operation.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and subsequently interrogated by the CIA. A U.S. Senate report claimed that he was tortured during these interrogations. In 2006, he was transferred to the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, where he was to face a military tribunal for his role in the September 11 attacks. However, the trial against him and several co-defendants has been delayed for years.
The military prison is located on the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At its peak, it held nearly 800 inmates. Established under Republican President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., it was intended to detain suspected Islamic terrorists without trial. Human rights organizations have long called for its closure. Despite this, a small number of detainees remain there.
This agreement with the U.S. government could potentially lead to a change in Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's imprisonment location, as he has been detained at Guantánamo Bay for years. If the plea deal is finalized, Mohammed may no longer spend his time in the notorious military prison at Guantánamo Bay.
Regardless of the formal plea agreement, the ongoing debate surrounding Guantánamo Bay continues, with human rights organizations advocating for its closure, despite a few detainees still being held there.
