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 on the United States. The trial, involving Mohammed and three co-defendants, is scheduled to commence before a military tribunal in June 2028. This development marks a significant step in a prolonged legal saga that has surrounded the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the past two decades.
Recently, a U.S. appeals court denied a plea agreement for Mohammed and two of his co-defendants, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. The rejected plea deal would have spared them from facing the death penalty. The appellate decision overturned previous rulings supporting the plea agreement, including those from a military judge and the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review.
The plea deal, initially accepted last year by the official overseeing the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court, was revoked in 2024 by Lloyd Austin, the defense secretary at the time under President Joe Biden. This decision drew criticism from some Republican lawmakers who opposed the prospect of a deal that could save Mohammed’s life if convicted.
The trial, as ordered by Lt.-Col. Michael Schrama in an 11-page directive, is set to commence on June 5, 2028, involving Mohammed, his co-defendants, and a fifth individual who was deemed unfit to stand trial due to mental health reasons. Schrama dismissed the prosecutors’ suggested trial start date of January 2027, citing the need for ample time to address pretrial motions and evidence compliance.
Since Mohammed’s capture in 2003, this case has seen five military judges overseeing it. Initially slated for a trial in 2021, unforeseen circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic, caused delays. Legal disputes regarding the admissibility of certain evidence have arisen, particularly concerning the torture endured by Mohammed and others at CIA detention facilities.
The devastating September 11 attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives, including 26 Canadian citizens, with Al-Qaeda claiming responsibility for the atrocities. Mohammed stands accused of masterminding the plot to crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with a third plane crashing in rural Pennsylvania. Guantanamo Bay’s detention facility continues to hold Mohammed, a prominent figure among foreign militant suspects detained post-9/11. While hundreds were once held there, only 15 individuals remain following convictions and repatriations to their home countries.
Notably, Mohammed’s nephew, Ramzi Yousef, is serving a prison sentence in Colorado for orchestrating the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center that resulted in six fatalities.
