US Supreme Court Rejects 9/11 Defendants' Appeal to Reinstate Guilty Plea Agreements
The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by 9/11 defendants to reinstate guilty plea agreements that were voided by the former Defense Secretary.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition filed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and two co-defendants, seeking to reinstate guilty plea agreements that had been nullified after being finalized in 2024.
Mohammed and two others, identified as Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, who are accused of participating in the September 11, 2001 attacks, entered into pre-trial plea agreements in 2024 to avoid the death penalty during the administration of President Joe Biden.
Following criticism from some victims’ families, then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the cancellation of the plea agreements, sparking a legal battle over whether he had the authority to make such a decision.
In an unsigned, brief opinion on Monday, the Supreme Court stated that it would not accept the appeal.
The three men are among the few still detained at the notoriously controversial U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with their trial scheduled to begin in June 2028.
Mohammed, also known as “KSM,” was considered one of the top aides to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before his arrest in March 2003 in Pakistan.
A significant portion of the legal debate in the September 11 attacks cases has centered on whether the defendants can receive a fair trial after having been subjected to torture by agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
