• Press Release

Amnesty International USA Response to Announcement that Plea Agreements Have Been Reached with 9/11 Defendants

July 31, 2024

two people holding Amnesty International signs reading Close Guantanamo
(Amnesty International USA)

In response to the announcement from the U.S. 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 the Security with Human Rights program at Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:

“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 Guantanamo Bay detention center. 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 program of state-sanctioned enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment will never be perpetrated by the United States again.”

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