The alleged 9/11 mastermind and two other terrorists awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay have struck plea deals.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said on Wednesday, as part of a deal that means he’ll avoid the death penalty.
Mohammed, known as KSM, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks, new footage of which emerged this week.
The Pentagon said Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi have also reached plea agreements.
The trio are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week.
According to The New York Times, the men agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
“In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” said the letter from chief prosecutor Rear Admiral Aaron Rugh.
In his letter, Admiral Rugh added that the decision to accept the deal was “not reached lightly” and was in the “best path… to justice”.
Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the terms of the plea bargain.
The US agreement with the men to enter into a plea agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaeda’s attack, and more than 20 years after militants flew commandeered commercial airliners into buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Families of many of the victims have said they wanted to see the men formally admit guilt.
Jim Smith, whose wife Moira Smith was killed in the attacks, said he felt like he was “kicked”.
“The prosecution and families have waited 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They took that opportunity away from us,” the widower said.
“They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty.”
