A US military judge has ordered Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and three co-defendants to stand trial more than two decades after their arrest, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters reports. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama issued the scheduling order on Wednesday, setting the opening proceedings for June 5, 2028. The ruling follows an appeals court decision that blocked previous plea deals which would have allowed the defendants to avoid the death penalty.
The case has faced years of stagnation due to persistent legal disputes regarding evidence obtained while the men were held in secret CIA prisons and subjected to torture. Judge Schrama rejected a prosecution request to open the trial in early 2027, noting that such a timeline would not provide adequate opportunity to resolve complex pretrial evidentiary motions. A realistic trial schedule must carefully account for the thorough hearing and compliance motions required under military commission rules.
Mohammed faces trial alongside co-defendants Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. Under the issued scheduling order, a jury of military service members will be selected first, with opening statements scheduled to follow thirty days later. The defense is slated to begin presenting its case sixty days after prosecutors rest, concluding the trial proceedings with a dedicated sentencing phase.
In 2024, Mohammed and two of his co-defendants had reached an agreement that would have spared them the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas. However, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked those agreements within days, a move that was subsequently upheld by a US appeals court last month. The prolonged delays have intensified intense international scrutiny regarding the legal framework and human rights conditions at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.
Mohammed was captured by US forces in Pakistan in March 2003, having served as a key lieutenant to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He spent three years in secret CIA detention facilities before being transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006. The upcoming 2028 trial date marks a significant milestone in one of the longest-running legal battles in modern military judicial history.
