USA: 9/11 plea deals welcomed though Guantánamo detention centre must close

Responding to an announcement from the US Department of Defense that plea agreements have been reached with 9/11 defendants Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi, Daphne Eviatar, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights programme, said:

“This is welcome news.

“Finally, after more than 20 years, there will be some accountability for the 9/11 attacks and justice for the victims and survivors of those horrific crimes.

“We are also pleased that there is finally an outcome for at least some of the accused, who were tortured and then languished in detention without trial for more than two decades.

“This should be the beginning of the end of the Guantánamo Bay detention centre.

“We urge the Biden administration to release the remaining detainees who have not been charged with crimes and close the facility once and for all.

“The Biden administration must also take all necessary measures to ensure that a programme of state-sanctioned enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment will never be perpetrated by the United States again.”