9/11: Trial for alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed set for June 2028

A US Air Force judge ruled on Wednesday that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and three co-defendants will stand trial at Guantanamo Bay in June 2028. The trial scheduling order was issued by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama, signaling a significant step in the legal proceedings that have been stalled for two decades over the four detainees held at the Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba.

Last month, a US appeals court denied Mohammed and two of his co-defendants the option to plead guilty under agreements that would have prevented the death penalty. This decision overturned earlier rulings by a military judge and the US Court of Military Commission Review in favor of the plea deal. The agreement was initially offered last year and accepted by an official overseeing the Pentagon's Guantanamo war court, but was subsequently withdrawn last August by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin due to Republican lawmakers' criticism.

According to Schrama's 11-page order, Mohammed and his co-defendants - Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali - will face a military tribunal beginning on June 5, 2028. The proceedings will commence with the selection of a panel serving as the jury, followed by opening statements 30 calendar days later.

The prosecution will present its evidence, after which defendants may file motions for not guilty findings. Both sides will have the chance to argue those motions and rebut each other, with prosecutors allowed to reopen their case. Defense presentations of principal evidence will begin 60 calendar days after the prosecution concludes its case.

Schrama declined the prosecution's proposal to start the trial in January 2027, citing insufficient time to resolve pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions. Mohammed, the most recognizable Guantanamo inmate since the facility's establishment in 2002 under then-President George W. Bush, is accused of masterminding the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.