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 other co-defendants. The trial is scheduled to take place before a military tribunal in June 2028. This decision comes after years of legal complications surrounding the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Recently, a U.S. appeals court rejected the plea agreements of Mohammed and two co-defendants, preventing them from pleading guilty and avoiding the death penalty. The plea deal, initially accepted by the official overseeing the Guantanamo war court, was revoked in 2024 by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, sparking criticism from some Republican lawmakers.
The trial for Mohammed and his co-defendants, including Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, is set to begin on June 5, 2028. The judge, Lt.-Col. Michael Schrama, dismissed the prosecutors’ request to start the trial earlier, citing the need for adequate time to address pretrial motions. This marks the fifth military judge to preside over Mohammed’s case since his capture in 2003.
The legal proceedings have been complicated by issues regarding the admissibility of evidence, particularly due to the torture endured by Mohammed and others at CIA detention sites. The 9/11 attacks, attributed to Al-Qaeda, claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, including 26 Canadian citizens. Mohammed is accused of planning the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while another plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
Despite facing various challenges, Mohammed remains a prominent detainee at Guantanamo Bay, where foreign militant suspects were detained following the 9/11 attacks. Over the years, only 15 detainees remain at the facility after convictions and repatriations to their home countries. Mohammed’s nephew, Ramzi Yousef, is currently serving a sentence in Colorado for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.