Accused mastermind of 9/11 attack ‘willing to testify against Saudi Arabia’

The accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has indicated a willingness to cooperate in a lawsuit filed by victims seeking damages from Saudi Arabia, if the United States decides not to seek the death penalty against him.

According to Al Jazeera, Mohammed’s offer was disclosed late on Friday in a letter filed in the US District Court in Manhattan by lawyers representing individuals and businesses seeking billions of dollars in damages, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters news agency reported on Monday.

The lawyers said three, including Mohammed, are housed at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention camp, where they face capital charges, while two are at the “Supermax” maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado.

According to the letter, Mohammed would not agree “at the present time” to be deposed, but that could change.

“Counsel stated that ‘the primary driver’ of this decision is the ‘capital nature of the prosecution’ and that ‘in the absence of a potential death sentence much broader cooperation would be possible’,” the letter said.

Mohammed and the other Guantanamo detainees have been attending pre-trial hearings in their cases, the letter said.