US court rules plea agreements for 9/11 suspects valid

1/1/2025 13:07

A U.S. military appeals court has ruled that plea deals related to the man accused of masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two accomplices can proceed after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier moved to invalidate the agreements.



In August, Austin rescinded plea deals that the Pentagon had entered into with the trio, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.



In November, a U.S. military judge ruled that Austin acted too late on revoking the plea deals and that they were still valid. The order late on Monday by the U.S. military appeals court upheld that ruling.



The Pentagon declined to comment. It has previously said Austin was surprised by the plea deals and that the secretary was not consulted because that process is independent.



Under the deals, it is possible that the three men could plead guilty to the attacks and in exchange not face the death penalty.



Mohammed is the most widely known inmate at the U.S. detention facility known as Guantanamo Bay on the coast of Cuba. It was set up in 2002 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush to detain foreign militant suspects following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.