A military appeals court has rejected Secretary Austin’s attempt to toss out plea agreements for three detainees at Guantanamo Bay who have been accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001 attacks. Mr. Austin tried to nullify the agreements — which were made between the defendants’ attorneys and prosecutors after the negotiations were approved by the government — earlier this year. 

According to ABC News, the military appeals court ruled on Monday night that Mr. Austin had no authority to nullify the plea agreements, which will allow the three men to avoid the death penalty for their alleged crimes. One of those men who is now poised to get his plea agreement is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is widely seen as the mastermind of the attacks. 

In August, the secretary of defense issued a memo saying that the plea deals for Mohammed and two other accused terrorists were now off the table. Days later, he said he made the decision to reject the plea deals out of respect for the families of 9/11 victims. 

“This wasn’t a decision that I took lightly,” Mr. Austin told reporters at an event in Maryland on August 6 according to the Associated Press. “But I have long believed that the families of the victims, our service members, and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commissions, commission trials carried out.”

Negotiations for the trials of Mohammed and the other defendants have been going on for more than a decade, and many have worried that the torture that the defendants endured in their early years in CIA custody could impact the inclusion of evidence or testimony, or even the outcome of the case. 

The Guantanamo Bay military installation in Cuba has been a highly charged political issue for decades. President Obama tried several times to close the base and prison, though was unsuccessful. Today, just 26 detainees remain at the facility with 14 of them eligible for transfer.