The man accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two of his co-defendants have reached plea agreements that will allow them to avoid the death penalty, the Defense Department announced Wednesday - a dramatic development in the decades-long cases for the prisoners at the U.S. military detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi will all plead guilty, according to a letter sent to families of the victims by a senior U.S. defense official overseeing the cases. A panel of military officials eventually will determine the men's sentences. "In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet," according to the letter, signed by Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh, the chief prosecutor in the cases. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/31/sept-11-case-plea-agreement/

Source: Washington Post August 01, 2024 03:41 UTC