01 August 2024 , 07:06
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The three men accused of plotting the terror attacks on September 11 2001 have been given a plea deal after years in Guantánamo Bay, according to Pentagon officials
A plea deal has been reached with three men accused of plotting the September 11 attacks, according to the Pentagon.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi had been held at Guantánamo Bay for several years without trial.
The conditions of the plea deal have not been made public by the US Department of Defense. According to The New York Times, the three men will enter a guilty plea to conspiracy charges to avoid facing the death penalty.
The three men were first charged arraigned on June 5, 2008. They were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, but the legal case has experienced years of delays.
Almost 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks on New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The majority died in the World Trade Center after it was hit by two hijacked planes.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed pictured shortly after his capture, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan ( Image: EPA)
Announcing the pre-trial agreement today, a statement from the US Department of Defense said: "The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ’Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case. The specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time.
"The three accused, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001, attacks against the United States."