Chief Planner Of 11 September Terrorist Attack In US, Wants To Plead Guilty And Escape The Death Penalty

Chalid Sheikh Mohammed is considered the mastermind behind the attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York. He has been in the notorious US prison camp Guantánamo for many years. Now he wants to make a deal and plead guilty. This could avoid the death penalty.

According to the US government, the alleged chief planner of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and other co-defendants want to enter into an agreement with the judiciary and plead guilty. Chalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants have agreed to such a deal, the US Department of Defence announced.

The exact details have not yet been made public. The further procedure also remained unclear. Chalid Sheikh Mohammed has been in the notorious US prison camp Guantánamo in Cuba for many years and, according to US media reports, he could escape the death penalty as a result of the agreement.

On 11 September 2001, around 3,000 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack in the United States to date. Islamist terrorists flew three hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon near Washington. A fourth plane crashed in the state of Pennsylvania. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed is regarded as the chief planner of the attacks and is also said to have organised the communication and financing of the project.

Khaled Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. He was subsequently interrogated by the US secret service CIA. According to a report by the US Senate, he was tortured during the interrogations. In 2006, he was transferred to the US prison camp Guantánamo. There he was to be tried before a military tribunal for his role in the attacks of 11 September.However, the proceedings against him and several co-defendants were delayed for years.

The prison camp is located in Cuba at the US naval base Guantánamo Bay. At times, almost 800 people were imprisoned there. The camp was set up in the USA under Republican President George W. Bush after the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 to detain suspected Islamist terrorists without trial.

Human rights organisations have long been calling for the camp to be closed. However, a small number of prisoners are still being held there.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg, Germany)