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Washington, US
The controversial plea deals that spare the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other terrorists the death penalty have been restored by a military judge on Wednesday (Nov. 6), sparking anger among the families of victims.
The Wednesday ruling by Air Force Col. and Judge Matthew McCall contradicts an order by US Defence Secretary Llyod J Austin earlier this year, Associate Press reported.
The ruling is yet to be public.
The deals were approved by the top official of the Gitmo military commission at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
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On July 31, the Pentagon said plea deals had been entered into with the trio, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but two days later, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin rescinded them.
"Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024," a letter from Austin stated.
If the plea bargains go through, the main architect of the heinous crime, along with two others, would avoid the death penalty.
The plea was severely criticised in July by several victims and politicians in the US.
According to Fox News, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, Terry Strada, condemned the plea bargains, saying, "The terrorists committed this heinous crime against the United States. They should have faced the charges, faced the trial and faced the punishment. Since when do the people responsible for murder get to call the shots?"
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Families of the victims of the attack that killed around 3,000 people were outraged by the ruling.
”I am livid that this judge overturned the decision and is allowing these defendants to take a plea deal,” retired police officer Jimmy Smith, whose wife Moira was killed on September 11, 2001, told The New York Post.
(With inputs from agencies)