The appeal deals with the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and two other defendants have been dropped, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Defense said it had reached a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-accused.
However, “in light of the importance of the decision,” Austin decided that “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me,” he wrote in a memo to Susan Escallier, the convening authority for the military commissions.
“I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements you signed on July 31, 2024 in the aforementioned case,” the memo added.
The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks involved four passenger jets that were hijacked and used to target the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon defense headquarters outside Washington. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Mohammed is believed to be the mastermind of the attacks, coordinating communication and financing for the operation.
He was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and in 2006 was transferred to Guantánamo Bay prison, where he was to be tried by a military court for his involvement. However, the trial against him and several co-defendants was delayed for several years.
Former President George W Bush established the prison at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba to detain suspected terrorists after the attacks.
Despite calls from human rights organizations for its closure, a small number of detainees are still being held there.
