Latest news with #KhalidSheikhMohammed
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Appellate court okays cancellation of 9/11 plotters' plea deals
July 12 (UPI) -- A divided federal appellate court panel canceled plea deals for three defendants who are accused to plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,976 in 2001. A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed by a 2-1 decision that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin legally rescinded existing plea deals with the three defendants. The defendants include alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, NPR reported on Friday. The three defendants are being held at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where a military court last summer announced the plea deals last summer. Austin withdrew the plea agreements two days later, which raised the question of whether or not he had the authority to do so. The plea agreement would have spared the three men from execution and instead would have sentenced each to life in prison. Austin wanted the case to continue with a trial that included the potential for the death penalty. The cases against the three men have been ongoing for more than 20 years amid a slew of pretrial hearings. Military prosecutors determined a plea deal was the best way to resolve the matter. A U.S. military court had okayed the plea agreements, and defense attorneys argued Austin lacked the authority to negate them because he didn't like the terms. The federal appellate court on Friday ruled Austin had the authority to terminate the plea agreements. Defense attorneys have the option of appealing the decision to a full panel of the federal appellate court in the nation's capital or the Supreme Court.
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK — The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen.
Toronto Star
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen.
Winnipeg Free Press
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen. Here's what to know about the case and how it got here: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused mastermind of 9/11 Mohammed is accused of developing and directing al-Qaida's plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States. Mohammed was arrested in 2003 in Pakistan and eventually taken to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At the time, it was where the U.S. held hundreds of men captured in President George W. Bush's 'war on terror.' Military prosecutors filed charges in 2008 against Mohammed and some co-defendants. After an Obama-era plan to try them in a civilian court in New York collapsed, the case remained with the military commission. The case dragged on through years of legal and logistical challenges. A major point of contention has been how much the evidence and case have been tainted by the men's torture while in CIA custody during the first years after their capture. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. The plea deal called for life in prison Military prosecutors and defense lawyers began plea talks several years ago. Last year, Mohammed and two others agreed to plead guilty, under an agreement that would have led to life in prison instead of a potential death penalty. The deal also would have required the men to answer questions posed by Sept. 11 victims' relatives. Military prosecutors called the arrangement 'the best path to finality and justice.' Some 9/11 families also saw the deal as the best hope for bringing the painful case to a conclusion and getting some answers from the defendants. But other victims' relatives said a trial was the right way to get justice and information, and some saw the plea deal as capitulation. Republican lawmakers also criticized the agreement, negotiated during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. Defense secretary withdrew the plea deal Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin soon rescinded the deal, saying that victims' relatives, U.S. troops and the American public ' deserve the opportunity ' to see military commission trials play out. Defense attorneys and the government wrangled in various courts over whether Austin was legally able to scrap the deal. It was on-again, off-again for months. A panel of appeals judges put it on hold in January and then, on Friday, issued 2-1 ruling saying that Austin had the authority to rescind the agreement. The order bars the military judge from taking any guilty pleas under the now-undone deal. The case could be headed to pretrial stage It is not clear whether defense lawyers plan to appeal. A message seeking comment was sent Saturday to Mohammed's attorneys. Without a plea deal, the case would once again be back in the pretrial stage within the military commission system, with the legal and logistical complications that it has faced. Questions about whether the men's torture would prevent the use of evidence, including statements they made, are yet to be resolved.
Associated Press
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen. Here's what to know about the case and how it got here: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused mastermind of 9/11 Mohammed is accused of developing and directing al-Qaida's plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States. Mohammed was arrested in 2003 in Pakistan and eventually taken to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At the time, it was where the U.S. held hundreds of men captured in President George W. Bush's 'war on terror.' Military prosecutors filed charges in 2008 against Mohammed and some co-defendants. After an Obama-era plan to try them in a civilian court in New York collapsed, the case remained with the military commission. The case dragged on through years of legal and logistical challenges. A major point of contention has been how much the evidence and case have been tainted by the men's torture while in CIA custody during the first years after their capture. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. The plea deal called for life in prison Military prosecutors and defense lawyers began plea talks several years ago. Last year, Mohammed and two others agreed to plead guilty, under an agreement that would have led to life in prison instead of a potential death penalty. The deal also would have required the men to answer questions posed by Sept. 11 victims' relatives. Military prosecutors called the arrangement 'the best path to finality and justice.' Some 9/11 families also saw the deal as the best hope for bringing the painful case to a conclusion and getting some answers from the defendants. But other victims' relatives said a trial was the right way to get justice and information, and some saw the plea deal as capitulation. Republican lawmakers also criticized the agreement, negotiated during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. Defense secretary withdrew the plea deal Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin soon rescinded the deal, saying that victims' relatives, U.S. troops and the American public ' deserve the opportunity ' to see military commission trials play out. Defense attorneys and the government wrangled in various courts over whether Austin was legally able to scrap the deal. It was on-again, off-again for months. A panel of appeals judges put it on hold in January and then, on Friday, issued 2-1 ruling saying that Austin had the authority to rescind the agreement. The order bars the military judge from taking any guilty pleas under the now-undone deal. The case could be headed to pretrial stage It is not clear whether defense lawyers plan to appeal. A message seeking comment was sent Saturday to Mohammed's attorneys. Without a plea deal, the case would once again be back in the pretrial stage within the military commission system, with the legal and logistical complications that it has faced. Questions about whether the men's torture would prevent the use of evidence, including statements they made, are yet to be resolved.
