A U.S. military appeals court has rejected Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin's efforts to remove potential plea deals for the alleged perpetrators of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and two of his co-conspirators.
The deal could see the three men – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi – plead guilty to the attacks, which killed around 3,000 people. In this way, they are paying attention to spiritual things.
The plea of Mohammed, who is accused of instigating the massacre, will be set for next week.
The New York Times and the Associated Press both reported Monday night that a military appeals court had ruled against Austin.
The ruling echoed an earlier ruling from military judge Colonel Matthew McCall, who ruled that Austin had no chance of losing the appeals following his initial admission.
News of the potential complaint surfaced a few months ago. They showed a way forward in cases that had been difficult for a long time the use of torture of prisoners swept up in the so-called “global war on terror”, launched by the US after the September 11 attacks.
Legal experts have said that the use of torture – dubbed “exaggerated interrogation” by former President George W Bush's administration – could prolong or prevent convictions.
For example, revelations that Majid Khana former al-Qaeda emissary, was tortured in a black hole of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which made people complain. The CIA denied the allegations, but Khan's lawyers described him as being tortured, starved and drowned.
In 2021, a military jury, made up of eight soldiers, sentenced Khan to 26 years in prison, the shortest possible sentence. But seven out of eight members of the group urged the government to show them mercy, given the way Khan was tortured.
Like Khan and the other September 11 protesters, Mohammed and the other two defendants are being tried by a special military commission established under World War II-era laws that allow prosecution of defendants outside the US justice system. .
While the Pentagon's nominee also signed the petition, Austin sought to block the deals in August under pressure from lawmakers and victims' relatives, who saw the deal as too lenient.
Austin later said he believed Americans should have a chance to see the trials.
Defense attorneys, however, said Austin's push to drop the complaint represented an unlawful interference in the case.
Despite Monday's ruling, Austin can still appeal the case to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which could delay the case.
Years of cases
The trial of three men in the case and a fourth defendant, Ammar al-Baluchi, has lasted more than a decade. Unlike his three colleagues, al-Baluchi did not accept negotiations.
All four defendants are being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
The military prison has become an enduring symbol of US brutality after the September 11 attacks, with many prisoners continuing to be held there without the rights guaranteed by US law.
The administration of US President Joe Biden entered office hoping to close the facility permanently, but it remains open as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20.
After holding 800 prisoners, the Guantanamo Bay facility will house about 40 people when Biden takes office in 2021.
Many have been transferred to second countries, including four in the past two weeks.
One of them includes Tunisian prisoner Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi. On Monday, the Pentagon announced that they were to be returned in Tunisia.
Although he was approved for extradition more than ten years ago, al-Yazidi was kept in Guantanamo for many years, because no agreement had been reached previously with the Tunisian government.
Al-Yazidi, a suspected member of al-Qaeda, had not faced charges after his arrest in Pakistan near the Afghan border in 2001.
According to the Pentagon, 26 people remain in custody at the Guantanamo Bay Center. Of that group, 14 are eligible for transfer.