The five men named in the memo are: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (often referred to as KSM), Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attashi, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi; and Ramzi bin al-Sheeb and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, who were not mentioned in the original petition.
These men were held without trial for decades. All claimed to have been tortured. KSM was subjected to simulated drowning, called “waterboarding,” 183 times before the U.S. government banned it.
All of them have been through more than a decade of pre-trial proceedings, made even more complicated by torture allegations and evidence.
Some victims' families criticized the terms of the settlement reached Wednesday as too lenient.
Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, which represents 9/11 survivors and families of victims, told the BBC earlier this week that the families had “expressed deep concern about these plea bargains”.
“I was heartbroken to hear today that there was a plea deal that would have given the detainees at Guantanamo Bay what they wanted,” Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died, told the BBC's Today Programme.
A Guantanamo lawyer representing Mr. Mohammed told The New York Times:, Out He was shocked by the sudden change of direction.
“If the Secretary of Defense issued such an order, I am respectfully and deeply disappointed that the government has not learned the lessons of this incident after all these years,” said attorney Gary Sowers.
“And the harm caused by ignoring proper procedures and fair competition.”
They are charged with a number of charges, including attacks on civilians, murder under the laws of war, kidnapping and terrorism.
In September, the Biden administration reportedly rejected plea bargaining terms for five people detained at a U.S. naval base in Cuba, including Mohammed.
The men reportedly asked the president to ensure they would be given trauma treatment rather than being held in solitary confinement.
