A union representing New York City firefighters says its rank and file are “disgusted and disappointed” with the plea deal sparing alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two other terrorists from the death penalty.
The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that it has entered pretrial agreements with Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, who each are awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay.
“In exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh, the chief prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, wrote in a letter sent yesterday to families of victims of the 9/11 attacks, according to the New York Post.
“On behalf of New York City firefighters, especially the survivors of the September 11th terrorist attack who are living with the illnesses and injuries that were inflicted upon us that day, we are disgusted and disappointed that these three terrorists were given a plea deal and allowed to escape the ultimate justice while each month three more heroes from the FDNY are dying from World Trade Center illnesses,” FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro said in a statement Thursday.
Under the terms of the plea deal, suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad has been spared the death penalty, reports say. (AP)
The Office of Military Commissions did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital this morning.
The president of the group 9/11 Justice, which describes itself as “a grassroots movement of families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” also said Thursday that “We are deeply troubled by these plea deals.”
“While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains access to these individuals for information,” 9/11 Justice President Brett Eagleson said. “These plea deals should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements, where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth.”
The defendants are accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001.
Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City. (Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the worst terror attack on U.S. soil in American history.
The three men, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the attacks, the Department of Defense says.
Family members of 9/11 victims and people pay tribute their loved ones on the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City on Sept. 11, 2023. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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They are slated to be sentenced in Guantánamo Bay on Aug. 5
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.