A judge from the U.S. Air Force has set a trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, and three co-defendants to face a military tribunal in June 2028. This decision marks a significant development in the prolonged legal proceedings surrounding the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, spanning over two decades. Recently, a U.S. appeals court rejected pleas by Mohammed and two co-defendants to admit guilt under agreements that would have avoided the death penalty. This appellate ruling overturned previous decisions supporting the plea deal.
The plea deal, initially accepted by the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court official last year, was revoked in 2024 by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin under President Joe Biden. Some Republican lawmakers criticized the potential deal that could spare Mohammed’s life if convicted. The trial, including Mohammed and his co-defendants Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, is set to commence on June 5, 2028, as per the 11-page order issued by Lt.-Col. Michael Schrama.
Rejecting the prosecution’s suggestion to start the trial in January 2027, Schrama cited the need for resolving pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions adequately. This case has seen five different military judges overseeing it since Mohammed’s capture in 2003. Although a trial was anticipated in 2021, it was postponed due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Legal disputes have arisen over the admissibility of evidence, given that Mohammed and others were subjected to torture at CIA detention facilities.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 individuals, including 26 Canadian citizens, with responsibility claimed by the designated terrorist entity Al-Qaeda. Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the attacks involving hijacked planes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with another plane crashing in Pennsylvania. He remains a prominent detainee at Guantanamo Bay, where foreign militant suspects were held following the attacks. While hundreds were initially detained, only 15 individuals remain after convictions and repatriations to their home countries. Mohammed’s nephew, Ramzi Yousef, is serving a sentence in Colorado for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that claimed six lives.