Prosecutors Drop Appeal on 9/11 Confession After 183 Waterboardings, Preserving 2028 Trial
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4
Prosecutors Drop Appeal on 9/11 Confession After 183 Waterboardings, Preserving 2028 Trial
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4
Summary
Military prosecutors told Sept. 11 families they will not appeal a ruling excluding Khalid Shaikh Mohammed’s 2007 FBI confession from the Guantánamo case.
Last month’s ruling found the statement involuntary because Mohammed had endured CIA abuse, lacked access to a lawyer and was not clearly told the interview could be used to prosecute him.
Danielle Reddan, the prosecution’s victims liaison, said an appeal could jeopardize the June 5, 2028 trial date and could split Mohammed from the three other defendants.
The decision appears to end a yearslong U.S. effort to defend statements tied to Mohammed’s 2003-06 detention in CIA black sites, where he was waterboarded 183 times.
The move comes a week before the attacks’ 25th anniversary; nearly 3,000 people were killed, and many families have long criticized the delay in starting the death-penalty trial.