A U.S. Air Force judge has set a trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, along with three co-defendants. The trial, scheduled for June 2028, is a significant development in a prolonged legal process involving the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which has spanned over two decades.
Recently, a U.S. appeals court denied the plea agreements of Mohammed and two co-defendants, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, which would have exempted them from the death penalty. This decision overturned previous rulings supporting the plea deal by a military judge and the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review.
The plea deal, initially accepted by the official overseeing the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court, was revoked in 2024 by Lloyd Austin, the defense secretary at the time under President Joe Biden. This move sparked outrage among some Republican lawmakers concerned about the possibility of a life-saving deal for Mohammed if convicted.
The trial, as ordered by Lt.-Col. Michael Schrama, will commence on June 5, 2028, involving Mohammed and his co-defendants Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. Another individual linked to the case was deemed unfit for trial due to mental illness. Schrama dismissed the prosecutors’ suggestion to begin the trial in January 2027, citing the need for adequate time to handle pretrial motions and evidence issues.
This marks Schrama as the fifth military judge overseeing the case since Mohammed’s capture in 2003. Previous attempts to hold a trial, including a scheduled one in 2021, were disrupted by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Legal debates have arisen over the admissibility of evidence obtained through the torture of Mohammed and other detainees at CIA detention sites. The September 11 attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives, including 26 Canadians, with Al-Qaeda claiming responsibility for the tragic events.
Accused of planning the hijacking of passenger planes to target the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, Mohammed is a prominent figure among Guantanamo’s inmates. Following the attacks, the detention facility housed numerous foreign militant suspects, but currently, only 15 detainees remain after convictions and repatriations.
Notably, Mohammed’s nephew, Ramzi Yousef, is serving a sentence in Colorado for orchestrating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that resulted in six fatalities.
