9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s surprise decision to throw out a plea deal with accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his co-defendants has left their case at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in disarray, with the defense, prosecution and judge all uncertain about when and how it would move forward.

A court session on Wednesday was the first since the Pentagon released notice of Austin’s decision late Friday. The plea agreement, which would have spared the defendants the risk of the death penalty, generated strong feelings among both opponents and supporters of the deal, including the families of Sept. 11 victims. It drew intense criticism of the Biden administration from senior Republican lawmakers.

The disruption caused by the unexpected override of the plea deal was just the latest to hit the special U.S. military-run commissions and their more than decadelong effort to bring the men accused of killing nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001, to trial.

The unusual location and nature of the offshore commissions, and legal challenges, including those stemming from the torture the men underwent in CIA custody in the first years after their capture, all have contributed to the delays, keeping the case still in pre-trial hearings.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Defense chief defends decision to throw out plea deal for 9/11 defendants </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> US leaders call for