US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked plea deals agreed with three defendants charged in connection with the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
The move comes after the Defense Department announced on Wednesday that alleged mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two other accomplices had entered into pre-trial agreements.
US media said the deals meant the defendants would likely avoid the death penalty and receive life sentences in exchange for pleading guilty to the charge of killing 2,976 people.
But the Pentagon announced on Friday that Secretary Austin had overruled the pre-trial agreements.
He sent a memorandum to an official overseeing military commissions at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the defendants are expected to stand trial.
Austin said in the memo, “I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me.” Austin relieved the official who received the memo of her authority to enter into such agreements.
Analysts say strong opposition from relatives of the September 11 victims and lawmakers calling for the death penalty for the accused may have contributed to the defense chief’s decision.