Alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks to go on trial in June 2028

A US military judge has ruled that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, widely believed to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, will face trial in June 2028. The decision follows years of legal complications over the prosecution of what US authorities have dubbed "the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history". Mohammed, alongside three others accused of orchestrating the 2001 attacks, will stand trial alongside the alleged accomplices - Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Al Hawsawi.

The trial, initially scheduled for January 2027, was delayed due to the need for more time to resolve pretrial matters, with the final decision made 18 months later than prosecutors had requested.

The case has been ongoing for over two decades, during which a previous trial planned for 2021 was cancelled. Mohammed, the most recognized detainee at Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, is accused of masterminding the plot to hijack passenger jets and crash them into the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks.

After a US appeals court last year rejected Mohammed and two of his co-defendants' plea deal that would have spared them the death penalty, the case will proceed to trial in 2028.

According to Lt Col Michael Schrama's 11-page order, the trial will begin on June 5, 2028, with the selection of a panel of service members who will serve as the jury. Opening statements will commence 30 days after the panel is seated, followed by the presentation of the prosecution's evidence and the defendants' opportunity to file motions for not guilty findings.

The trial will continue with both sides' arguments, rebuttals, and the prosecution's reopening of their case, leading to the defense's evidence presentation 60 days after the prosecution concludes. The trial will conclude with a sentencing phase.