Judge delays 9/11 pretrial hearings

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — A military judge has canceled pretrial hearings in the Sept. 11, 2001, case at Guantanamo Bay while prosecutors await a response from the Biden administration on a proposed plea deal that would avert a death penalty trial for the five defendants.

The judge, Col. Matthew McCall, postponed the next hearings until at least Jan. 16 while “policymakers” decide whether to agree to conditions from the defendants concerning their post-conviction confinement.

His order, dated Oct. 13, quoted prosecutors as saying they did not expect a response until perhaps next year. McCall ordered the prosecutors to update him on the issue every two weeks starting Dec. 16.

The judge did not describe the issues that are being discussed. But people with knowledge of the negotiations have said the defense is seeking a pledge from the government that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of masterminding the attacks, and the others will not be held in solitary confinement.

The men accused of helping plot the 2001 hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people also asked the government to establish a civilian torture treatment program for them.

The trial has been delayed by higher court and logistical challenges, as well as defense lawyers’ efforts to declassify information about the CIA’s torture of the defendants.

Prosecutors, defense lawyers and White House representatives declined to discuss which members of the Biden administration’s national security team were reviewing the issues. Prosecutors stated in court filings that they submitted a document describing the issues in March to Caroline Krass, the Pentagon general counsel.

The defendants were arraigned 10 years ago but have no trial date. An earlier effort by a senior Pentagon official to reach a plea agreement without the prosecution’s involvement was scuttled during the Trump administration.