UNLIKELY COLLABORATION

Alleged 9/11 Mastermind May Help Victims’ Lawsuit if Death Penalty Dropped: Court Docs

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, is allegedly open to helping 9/11 victims in their lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.

The man allegedly behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has said he’d be willing to provide more information and cooperate in a lawsuit regarding the attacks if he were to avoid being given the death penalty. In a New York federal filing on Friday, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed disclosed he might be willing to help victims who are accusing the government of Saudi Arabia of helping coordinate the 2001 attacks, The Wall Street Journal reports. A lawyer for Mohammed said he does not currently want to give a deposition due to the “capital nature of the prosecution,” going on to say that “[i]n the absence of a potential death sentence much broader cooperation would be possible.” In the lawsuit, which is being brought against Saudi Arabia, lawyers say they have contacted three of five detainees currently in Guantanamo Bay for crimes related to 9/11 and have requested depositions. “We’re trying to leave no stone unturned,” James Kreindler, a lawyer for the victims, said Monday. “But who knows whether they’ll ever testify or be honest or be cooperative?”