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9/11 Victims’ Family Members, Members of Congress Urge Biden Administration to Abandon Plea Negotiations with Guantanamo Detainees [1]
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Date: 2023-10
Family members of some of the victims of 9/11 have asked the Biden Administration to abandon current plea negotiations with Guantánamo detainees that would remove the possibility of death sentences for the men accused of planning the 9/11 terror attacks. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants have been held for more than twenty years, first at CIA black sites where they were subject to “enhanced interrogation techniques” and then at Guantánamo, but none has proceeded to trial. The request came after family members were notified by the Pentagon on August 1st, 2023 about the possible plea deal.
On September 6th, President Biden rejected some of the terms requested by the detainees as part of a possible plea deal, but not the possibility of removing death as a penalty.
In the letter submitted by some 9/11 family members, they ask President Biden to “prioritize the interests of the victims of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks over those of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or other terrorists; that you not bow to the demands of any embarrassed government officials willing to sacrifice transparency.” A similar request was made on August 23rd by 32 Republican Members of Congress and one Democrat, who also sent a letter to President Biden, writing, “We owe it to the victims and their families to deliver justice – and that should mean the death penalty for these murderers.”
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[1] Url:
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/9-11-victims-family-members-members-of-congress-urge-biden-administration-to-abandon-plea-negotiations-with-guantanamo-detainees
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