January 1, Inside the 9/11 Plotters’ Potential Plea Deal

The individuals accused of planning the September 11, 2001 terror attack are negotiating a potential plea deal with federal prosecutors, wherein a guilty plea would enable them to avoid the death penalty.

The five defendants were first charged in 2008 with plotting or logistically supporting the terrorist attacks that led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people in New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The five defendants are: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of 9/11; Ammar al-Baluchi, Mohammed’s nephew; Walid bin Attash, who allegedly helped train two of the 19 hijackers; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who allegedly organized logistics in the attack; and Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, who allegedly arranged financing.

All five men have been held at Guantánamo Bay for more than a decade, where they were subjected to torture tactics referred to as “enhanced interrogation techniques,” such as waterboarding. This has led to a long-running debate over whether the defendants can ever receive a fair trial.

Negotiations are likely to take some time given the nature of the situation.

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Accused 9/11 plotters reportedly in talks over deal to avoid death penalty trial