Pentagon chief defends his rejection of plea deal with 9/11 defendants
Kyiv • UNN
Lloyd Austin has canceled the plea bargain for those accused of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He stated that the American public deserves military commissions and trials in this case.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made his first statement on Tuesday about his decision to reject a plea deal for the accused in the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks, saying that the depth of American losses and victims of September 11 requires the continuation of the military commission's trial, UNN reports citing AP.
Details
"This was not an easy decision," Austin told reporters at an event with Australian officials in Annapolis, Maryland.
"But I have long believed that the families of the victims, our service members, and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commissions and commission trials" in the 9/11 case, he said.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about 9/11 and the Americans who were killed that day. And also those who died trying to save lives, and the soldiers and their families who have given so much for this country," said Austin, who commanded troops in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and was awarded the Silver Star for his service as a commander during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Some lawyers and human rights organizations involved in the Guantanamo cases accuse Austin of succumbing to political pressure by canceling the plea deal and deny the legality of Austin's actions.
Open hearings are to resume on Wednesday for the first time since Austin's order.
Addendum
On July 31, it became known that plea agreements had been concluded between Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of organizing the September 11 attacks, and two of his accomplices. All three prisoners are being held in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
The Pentagon did not provide details of the deal, but The New York Times, citing anonymous sources in the Defense Department, reported that the prisoners had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for life in prison.
