\n \n \n “. concat(self. i18n. t(‘search. voice. recognition_retry’), “\n
On the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Sept. 11, CBS News showed that army prosecutors and lawyers for five defendants in their role in the attacks are negotiating possible plea deals that could remove the death penalty from the table and keep the detention camp at the army base at Guantanamo Bay. Cuba opened up for the foreseeable future.
Their cases have stalled due to CIA evidence and, more recently, delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The main defendant is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed architect of September 11. The 4 accused are Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Walid bin Attash and Ammar al-Baluchi.
The option of a plea deal angered the families of some of the Sept. 11 victims, adding that Debra Burlingame, whose brother, pilot Charles “Chic” Burlingame, was killed when al-Qaeda terrorists took off from her plane, American Airlines Flight 77, and crashed it. . in the Pentagon.
“We didn’t have leftovers for weeks,” his sister Debra Burlingame told CBS News. “We were thinking, ‘What would Chic want?
Burlingame said he had been in contact with the families on Sept. 11.
“The families are outraged,” he said of the option of plea agreements. “They don’t need closure, they need justice. “
Another group, 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, said a guilty plea and an agreement not to appeal the sentence “would be a component of the popularity of the torture suffered by the defendants” and would bring “some measure of judicial purpose. “”
“The five defendants and the government are all engaged in negotiations in good faith, with the concept of ending this trial that has an eternal trial,” said James Connell, al-Baluchi’s defense attorney.
“M. al-Baluchi’s number one priority is to get medical care for his torture,” Connell said. of medical care and the abandonment of the death penalty.
Before moving to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, the five September 11 defendants were detained and interrogated through the CIA. Critics call excessive interrogation torture.
“The one that perhaps had the most lasting physical effect was what they called ‘the wall,'” Alka Pradhan told CBS News. Pradhan is a human rights lawyer on al-Baluchi’s legal team.
“He had told us that his head had been hit against a wall several times until he saw sparks and fainted,” Pradhan said. “The result is, as several medical experts have examined, lasting brain damage. “
Asked via CBS News if it is right to refuse to apply the death penalty, Pradhan replied, “The U. S. government has refused to apply the death penalty. The U. S. department of Health and Agriculture disappointed us all after September 11th in its decisions to use illegal techniques and programs. . . all. legal proceedings”.
A spokesman for the army trials responded to CBS News’ questions about the Sept. 11 case, but showed that “lately the parties are involved in initial plea negotiations,” noting recent court documents.
Asked if there could be justice without taking into account the death penalty, Burlingame said no. from some other country. This is a very genuine option because now it has been done over and over again. “
Burlingame said his concern now is that “we’ve reached a point in our country where we don’t seem to have the courage of our convictions. “
His brother, Chic, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Asked if forgiveness was possible, Burlingame replied, “Yes, but not for them. . . You have to take up the duty for what you did. And they never will. “
Nature: New Forest National Park
Bill Clinton on Queen Elizabeth II
The Queen’s lifelong love of animals