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Politics9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial set for June 2028 at Guantanamo
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A U.S. Air Force judge, Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, has ordered Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and three co-defendants to stand trial before a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, starting June 5, 2028. The order marks a milestone in a prosecution that has faced two decades of legal delays. The trial will begin with jury selection from service members, followed by opening statements 30 days later. The prosecution will present its case first, then the defense. The judge rejected a prosecution proposal for a January 2027 start, citing insufficient time for pretrial motions. This development follows a 2024 plea deal that was revoked by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after Republican criticism. Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Source report
A U.S. Air Force judge has ordered Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks, and three co-defendants to stand trial before a military tribunal in June 2028.
The trial-scheduling order, issued by Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, marks the latest milestone in a military prosecution that has been mired in two decades of legal deadlock surrounding the four detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Background
Last year, a U.S. appeals court refused to allow Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty under agreements that would have spared them the death penalty. The appellate decision reversed earlier rulings by a military judge and the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review that had supported the plea deal.
The agreement had been offered in 2024 and accepted by the official overseeing the Pentagon's Guantanamo war court. It was later revoked in August of that year by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, following criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Trial Schedule
Under Schrama's 11-page order, the following defendants will stand trial starting June 5, 2028:
- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
- Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin 'Atash
- Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi
- Ali Abdul Aziz Ali
The proceedings will begin with the selection of a panel composed entirely of service members, who will act as the jury under the rules of military justice.
Key Milestones
- Opening statements will commence 30 calendar days after the panel is seated.
- Prosecution's evidence will be presented, after which defendants may file motions for findings of not guilty.
- Both sides will have opportunities to argue motions and rebut one another, and prosecutors may reopen their case.
- Defense's principal evidence will begin 60 calendar days after the prosecution concludes its case.
- The trial will conclude with a sentencing phase.
Schrama rejected the prosecutors' proposal to open the trial in January 2027, stating that it would leave insufficient time for the "resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions."
About Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Mohammed remains the most well-known inmate at the Guantanamo detention facility, which was established in 2002 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush to house foreign militant suspects following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
He is accused of orchestrating the plot to fly hijacked passenger jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people.
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U.S. military judge orders 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to trial in June 2028