Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges. In exchange for their pleas, they will receive life sentences instead of facing a death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, prosecutors announced yesterday.
A senior Pentagon official approved the plea deal, according to Defense Department officials. The men have been in U.S. custody since 2003, but their case has been bogged down in pretrial proceedings over whether evidence was tainted by their torture in secret CIA prisons.
The plea agreement prevents a lengthy trial that could have lasted up to 18 months and eliminates the risk of a military judge dismissing confessions crucial to the prosecution's case. Although the three men will still face a form of a mini-trial, it is not expected to take place before next year.
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