More than 2,000 family members of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks want President Biden to step in and stop any plea deal for the suspected architect of the plot and his fellow defendants.
The families sent a letter to the White House saying they received notification from the U.S. government informing them that plea deals are being considered for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others that would prevent a public trial and remove the possibility of the death penalty.
The five suspects have been held at the U.S. detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006. Numerous legal disputes and delays, however, has meant no trial date has yet been set for the men even after more than a year of military prosecutors and defense attorneys trying to find a negotiated end to the case.
While prosecutors have been considering the deal, no plea agreement has been decided. But that is not satisfying for families to the 9/11 victims, according to their Monday letter to Biden.
“The pain is all the worse as we learn from the Department of Justice, practically on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, in a form letter that it is proposing a deal with terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that will prevent a public trial and will continue to keep the information provided to his legal team . . . secret and hidden not only from the 9/11 Families but from the American public,” the families write.
“You are our President and we ask that you prioritize the interests of the victims of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks over those of [Mohammed] or other terrorists; that you not bow to the demands of any embarrassed government officials willing to sacrifice transparency,” the letter adds.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11 when members of the al-Qaeda militant group took control of four passenger planes, with two hitting the World Trade Center towers in New York City and another striking the Pentagon. The fourth jet was headed toward Washington, D.C., but crew members and passengers attempted to storm the cockpit and the hijackers forced the plane down in a field in Pennsylvania, killing all onboard.
The U.S. 9/11 Commission later found that Mohammed presented the idea of the terrorist attacks to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, with the four other defendants thought to have supported the plot in various ways.
But the men have not yet stood trial as there has been uncertainty over the legality of using information pulled from the defendants using torture methods such as waterboarding, which Mohammed underwent 183 times while he was in CIA custody after being caught in the early 2000s.
CBS News reported last week that under the proposed deal, the five men would accept criminal responsibility for their actions and plead guilty in exchange for not receiving the death penalty.
But the victims’ families say the plea allows U.S. agencies to continue to withhold critical information about Saudi Arabia’s possible role in assisting hijackers.
“It is our fervent hope you will once again stand up for the victims and immediately demand that your government release the evidence we have tirelessly fought for, which we believe will further reveal the role Saudi agents played in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks,” the letter states.
Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement in the 9/11 attacks.