US military judge reinstates 9/11 mastermind plea deal

WASHINGTON: A US military judge has reinstated plea agreements for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, an official said on Thursday, three months after the deals were scrapped by Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The agreements -- which are understood to take the death penalty off the table -- had triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, and Austin has said that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial.

“I can confirm that the military judge has ruled that the pretrial agreements for the three accused are valid and enforceable,” the US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The prosecution has the opportunity to appeal Wednesday´s ruling, but it was not immediately clear if they would do so.

Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement that “we are reviewing the decision and don´t have anything further at this time.”

The plea deals with Mohammed and two alleged accomplices -- Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi -- were announced in late July.

The decision appeared to have moved their long-running cases toward resolution after years of being bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.

But Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were announced, saying the decision should be his given its significance.