{"id":88757,"date":"2024-12-31T22:46:08","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T22:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/us-court-rejects-pentagon-chiefs-bid-to-block-9-11-plea-deals-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-12-31T22:46:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T22:46:08","slug":"us-court-rejects-pentagon-chiefs-bid-to-block-9-11-plea-deals-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/us-court-rejects-pentagon-chiefs-bid-to-block-9-11-plea-deals-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"US court rejects Pentagon chief\u2019s bid to block 9\/11\u00a0plea\u00a0deals | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A US military appeals court has ruled against Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin’s attempt to block potential plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two alleged co-conspirators in the September 11, 2001 attacks.<\/p>\n

The decision could lead to plea agreements for Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, sparing them the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas. A plea hearing for Mohammed, accused of masterminding the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, is scheduled for next week.<\/p>\n

The ruling upheld a previous decision by military judge Colonel Matthew McCall, asserting that Austin lacked authority to overturn plea bargains initially approved by a Pentagon official.<\/p>\n

Complications of torture in trials<\/strong><\/p>\n

The case has been mired in delays, partly due to allegations of torture during the so-called \u201cglobal war on terror.\u201d The use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” by the CIA on detainees has sparked legal and public outcry, potentially jeopardizing convictions.<\/p>\n

For instance, former al-Qaeda courier Majid Khan was sentenced to 26 years in 2021 after enduring waterboarding, starvation, and sexual abuse. Despite his conviction, the military jury urged clemency due to the severity of his mistreatment.<\/p>\n

Guantanamo\u2019s shadow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohammed and his co-defendants have been held at Guantanamo Bay, a symbol of post-9\/11 abuses. The Biden administration initially aimed to close the detention center but has yet to do so, with 26 detainees remaining.<\/p>\n

Four detainees, including Tunisian Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi, were recently transferred. Al-Yazidi was repatriated to Tunisia after more than a decade of being cleared for release.<\/p>\n

Next steps<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the court\u2019s ruling, Austin may appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, potentially causing further delays. Pre-trial hearings in the case have already spanned over a decade, with no resolution in sight.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A US military appeals court has ruled against Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin’s attempt to block potential plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two alleged co-conspirators in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The decision could lead to plea agreements for Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, sparing them the death penalty in exchange for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/1191187-reut-1475209604\/1191187-reut-1475209604.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t