US sets June 2028 trial date for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, presiding over the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, ruled Wednesday, that the trial of alleged Sept. 11, 2001, mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three co-defendants will begin on June 5, 2028.

The decision rejects a January 2027 start date requested by military prosecutors, citing the need for additional time to settle lingering pretrial motions and disputes over evidence.

Why was the 9/11 trial scheduled for 2028 instead of 2027?

Judge Schrama stated in his ruling that the 18-month extension beyond the prosecution's proposed timeline is necessary to resolve complex pretrial issues. Central among these disputes is determining the admissibility of statements and evidence obtained following years of harsh interrogation methods used against the defendants at secret CIA "black sites" before their transfer to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, according to NBC News.

Mohammed, along with co-defendants Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin 'Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, faces capital charges for their alleged roles in planning the hijacked plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Legal proceedings have stalled for over two decades due to challenges surrounding interrogation techniques—including a 2014 Senate report revealing that Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times—as well as access to classified records.

Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in September 2006. He has previously said he planned the 9/11 operation "from A-to-Z," according to the BBC.

What is the current status of the death penalty and plea agreements in the case?

The defendants had reached a plea agreement that would have allowed Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and receiving life sentences without parole. The agreement was later revoked by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after criticism from Republican lawmakers.

A federal appeals court last month overturned rulings that had supported the plea agreements, clearing the way for the capital case to proceed, BBC reported.

Defense lawyers have argued that the prolonged proceedings are linked in part to evidence concerning alleged torture at CIA detention facilities. A 2014 U.S. Senate report found that Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding 183 times during CIA interrogations, NBC News reported.

According to the BBC, the June 2028 trial date represents the latest attempt to bring the long-running prosecution to trial. The Guantanamo military prison opened in 2002, months after the attacks, and about 15 prisoners remain detained there.

If the case proceeds as scheduled, the trial will begin nearly 27 years after the Sept. 11 attacks and more than 25 years after Mohammed's capture.