President Biden rejected certain conditions requested by five 9/11 plot suspects, including the accused mastermind behind the attacks, in exchange for a guilty plea.
A spokesman for the National Security Council said on Wednesday that Biden did not agree to the guarantees requested by the detainees – such as releasing them to solitary confinement and providing medical treatment for alleged abuse in CIA custody.
However, sparing them the death penalty is still on the table.
“The President agreed with the Secretary of Defense’s recommendation not to accept the Common Policy Principles that have been proposed by the 9-11 Defendants as a basis for plea negotiations,” the spokesman said.
“The 9/11 attacks were the single worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor. The President does not believe that accepting common policy principles as the basis for a pretrial agreement is appropriate in these circumstances.
“The administration is committed to ensuring that the military commission process is fair and provides justice to victims, victims, families, and those accused of crimes,” the spokesperson added.
President Biden has rejected certain conditions for a plea deal demanded by the alleged 9/11 conspiracy. Bonnie Cash / Pool via CNP / SplashNews.com
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged main architect of the 9/11 attacks, and four other suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have demanded assurances from the Biden administration that they will not be forced to serve sentences in solitary confinement and continue to be allowed to eat and pray together if they plead guilty to terrorism charges, according to the New York Times.
The alleged terrorists also sought treatment for sleep disorders, brain injuries, gastrointestinal damage or other health issues they claimed were caused by the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by CIA operatives while in custody.
Those charged with terrorism, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, could still escape the death penalty.ZUMAPRESS.com
That condition, referred to as the Common Policy Principle in court filings, was rejected by Biden. However, a plea deal that would eliminate the possibility of the death penalty for the five men remains on the table, according to the outlet.
Some relatives of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks expressed outrage when they were informed by the Biden administration last month that plea deals sparing accused terrorists the death penalty were being considered.
Biden, 80, reportedly did not take a position on the prospect of removing the possibility of the death penalty for the five men, according to the New York Times, a matter to be determined by the Pentagon’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Families of victims of the 9/11 attacks have expressed outrage that the Biden administration would consider plea deals that offer life in prison to accused terrorists. New York Post
The case involving Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees has been shrouded in controversy and legal delays, particularly over the treatment of the alleged terrorists during their four years in CIA custody before being transferred to a US detention facility in Cuba in 2006.
One of the accused plotters, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, was also found by a military medical board last month to be incompetent to stand trial or be offered a plea deal and was excluded from negotiations.
No trial date has been set for the five suspected 9/11 conspirators.
The Trump administration has previously rejected any plea negotiations with suspected terrorists.
Biden will not participate in any celebrations at 9/11 memorial sites in New York City, Virginia or Pennsylvania next week, choosing instead to join service members and their families at a military base in Anchorage.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
