Politics 9/11 attack: US justice deal with defendants revoked
After heavy criticism, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked a plea agreement with the alleged chief planner of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and other co-defendants. The Pentagon announced the decision with the publication of a memorandum in which Austin relieved the supervisor of the Department of Defense of her duties with "immediate effect". At the same time, he took over direct supervision of the case himself.
03.08.2024, 04:07
03.08.2024, 08:52
SDA
He had determined that, given the importance of the decision, "the responsibility for such a decision should rest with me", Austin explained in the order published on Friday evening (local time). This means that the defendants could again face the death penalty.
Austin attributed his decision to a law that regulates the work of military commissions. The law, which was passed by Congress and then President Barack Obama in 2009, also stipulates, among other things, who can be charged with which crimes before military commissions.
On September 11, 2001, around 3,000 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack in the United States to date. Islamist terrorists had piloted three hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington. A fourth plane crashed in the state of Pennsylvania. Chalid Sheikh Mohammed is regarded as the chief planner of the attacks and is also said to have organized the communication and financing of the plan.
Sharp criticism of the agreement
The US Department of Defense announced the controversial agreement on Wednesday. Chalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants wanted to enter into an agreement with the judiciary and plead guilty, it said. The exact details were not initially made public. The further procedure also remained unclear.
The agreement was met with incomprehension by both Republicans and some of those affected. Among others, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in the US House of Representatives, James Comer, sharply criticized the agreement in a letter to US President Joe Biden. Comer also demanded information on whether the government had played a role in negotiating the deal. Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, denied this when asked by journalists on Thursday.
Chalid Sheikh Mohammed has been in the notorious US prison camp Guantánamo in Cuba for many years and, according to US media reports, would have escaped the death penalty as a result of the agreement. According to the reports, allegations of torture against the USA were central to the deal. Legal experts warned that any confessions could therefore not stand up in court proceedings.
However, Republicans immediately criticized the agreement. "You (...) are signaling to our enemies that the United States is not prepared to take tough action against those who attack our country," wrote Comer. He also lamented an "absolute lack of transparency". His party colleague Mike Johnson, who chairs the House of Representatives, had already expressed similar criticism: Biden's government had done "the unthinkable". The relatives of the victims "deserved better".
Fire department members feel betrayed
After the agreement became known, several first responders and relatives of victims who disagreed with the deal also spoke out in the US media. The New York Firefighters Union announced that its members felt "betrayed and disgusted".
Chalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. He was subsequently interrogated by the US secret service CIA. According to a report by the US Senate, he was tortured during the interrogations. He was transferred to Guantánamo in 2006. There he was to be tried before a military tribunal. However, the proceedings against him and several co-defendants were delayed for years.
