Austin cancels plea deals with three suspects in September 11 attacks
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (photo: Getty Images)
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday rescinded plea agreements made earlier this week with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, and two of his associates. All three are being held at the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reports Reuters.
On Friday, Austin removed Susan Escallier, who oversees the Pentagon’s military tribunal at Guantanamo, from her authority to negotiate pretrial agreements in the case and assumed responsibility himself.
"Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements...," Austin said.
Many Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have sharply criticized the agreements.
Who is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Mohammed is the most prominent detainee at Guantanamo. He is accused of masterminding the plot to hijack passenger planes and crash them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. The September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, leading the US into a two-decade-long war in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that plea deals had been reached but did not provide details. An American official indicated that the agreements likely involved confessions in exchange for the death penalty being withdrawn.
In addition to Mohammed, the plea deals also involved two other detainees: Walid Muhammad Salih bin Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi.
