On Wednesday, a U.S. military judge ordered the reinstatement of plea deals for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his accomplices, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, according to an Associated Press report.
All three men have been detained since 2003. Mohammed, an Al-Qaeda terrorist, is alleged by the U.S. to be the principal architect behind the September 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He and four others were formally charged in 2012 with terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder, and multiple other war crimes.
Just three months ago, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin revoked the plea agreement following backlash from 9/11 victims' families, who called the deal a miscarriage of justice. The agreement allowed the men to plead guilty in exchange for being spared the death penalty - a move that many families argued was insufficient accountability and demanded a full trial instead.
However, U.S. Air Force Col. and Judge Matthew McCall ruled at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to restore the plea deals, reigniting controversy over the handling of justice for one of America’s most significant attacks.
