Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is scheduled to face trial in June 2028, a judge declared on Wednesday. Mohammed and three co-defendants have been held at Guantanamo Bay since the early 2000s, with their trial repeatedly delayed.
Judge Lt Col Michael Schrama set the trial date for June 5, 2028, contingent on both prosecutors and defense attorneys meeting a series of deadlines. Opening statements would begin 30 days after the jury is empaneled, though defendants may opt to defer theirs until the prosecution rests its case. The prosecution would then have a period to respond to any defense motions.
This decision comes just weeks before the 25th anniversary of the attacks and follows the dramatic revocation of potential plea deals by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin two years prior. Those deals would have allowed Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawasawi to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for life sentences, but Austin nullified them, clearing the way for the possibility of the death penalty.
Victims' families had expressed concerns about the plea deals, particularly regarding access to information. The prior decision to suppress the confession of Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the defendants, due to torture during CIA interrogation, is currently under review by a military appeals court. Similar torture-related litigation involving Mohammed, bin Attash, and al-Hawasawi is also awaiting rulings.
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaida conspirators hijacked four airplanes, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon near Washington, and the fourth in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew attempted to regain control. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 victims, in addition to the 19 hijackers.
Mohammed, who presented the concept of attacking the United States to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and received authorization to plan the September 11 attacks, was captured in Pakistan in 2003. He and Hawsawi were held in CIA prisons before their transfer to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.
A fifth defendant, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, has been found incompetent to stand trial and his case is being handled separately.
Families of the victims have expressed a desire for closure and questioned the extended timeline. Retired NYPD officer Jim Smith, whose wife died responding to the attacks, noted that they have been seeking a trial date for 20 years. Kathy Vigiano, wife of the late Detective Joseph Vigiano, questioned the need for an additional two-year wait for potential closure after 25 years.