Mohammed is the accused mastermind behind al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks on the US.
ADVERTISEMENTThe US Defence Department announced that three men accused of planning the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have agreed to a pre-trial deal.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi have been held at the Guantanamo Bay US Navy base for several years without trial.
They will plead guilty and, in exchange, be spared the risk of the death penalty.
The details of the plea deal have not been released by officials. However, according to US media, Chief Prosecutor Rear Admiral Aaron Rugh informed victims' families of the agreement in a letter stating that the men would admit to all charges — including the murder of 2,976 people — in return for removing the death penalty as a possible punishment.
The formal pleas are expected as early as next week.
More than 16 years of prosecution efforts
The 9/11 attacks were the deadliest on US soil since Pearl Harbour in 1941, which led to the "War on Terror" and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, reshaping both the Middle East and American society.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, regarded as the mastermind behind the tragedy, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and endured "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as waterboarding before the practice was banned in the US in 2007.
Terry Strada, the national chairperson of 9/11 Families United, was at Manhattan federal court for a hearing on one of many civil lawsuits when she learned about the plea agreement.
Strada said that many families of the victims want the men to admit to guilt.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticised the Biden administration on social media platform X, describing the deal as a "revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility to defend America and provide justice".
The White House National Security Council stated that the president's office was informed of the deal but did not participate in the negotiations.
This agreement, reached after more than 16 years of prosecution efforts, marks a significant step in the long-delayed pursuit of justice for the 9/11 attacks.