United States: The United States has set June 5, 2028, as the start date for the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001, attacks, and three co-defendants, marking the latest development in a case that has been stalled by nearly two decades of legal disputes at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama issued an 11-page scheduling order setting the trial date. The proceedings will take place before a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with a panel of service members serving as the jury.
The defendants are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ’Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. They face charges related to the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.
Why was the 9/11 trial delayed until 2028?
The latest schedule reflects the extensive legal battles that have surrounded the case for almost two decades. Schrama rejected prosecutors’ request to begin the trial in January 2027, determining that the earlier date would leave insufficient time to resolve outstanding pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.
The case has also been complicated by a dispute over proposed plea agreements. The agreements, offered last year and accepted by the official overseeing the Pentagon’s Guantanamo military commissions, would have allowed Mohammed and two co-defendants to plead guilty while avoiding the death penalty.
Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the agreements in August amid criticism from Republican lawmakers. A US military judge and the US Court of Military Commission Review subsequently supported the plea arrangements, but a US appeals court last month blocked Mohammed and two co-defendants from proceeding with the guilty pleas.
The appeals decision left the capital punishment issue unresolved as the case moves toward trial.
How will the Guantanamo military tribunal proceed?
Under Schrama’s order, jury selection will begin when proceedings open on June 5, 2028. The panel will consist entirely of service members who will hear the evidence under the rules governing military justice.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin 30 calendar days after the panel is seated. Prosecutors will then present their evidence, after which the defendants can seek findings of not guilty. Both sides will have opportunities to argue and respond to those motions, while prosecutors may also seek to reopen their case.
The defence is scheduled to begin presenting its principal evidence 60 calendar days after the prosecution concludes its case. The proceedings will ultimately move to a sentencing phase.
Mohammed remains the most prominent detainee at the Guantanamo facility, which was established in 2002 under then-President George W. Bush to hold foreign militant suspects following the September 11 attacks.
He is accused of orchestrating the plot in which hijacked passenger aircraft were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001.
The June 2028 trial date represents another attempt to move one of the most consequential terrorism cases in modern US history toward a judicial conclusion after years of procedural and legal deadlock.