9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed To Face Trial In 2028, Nearly 27 Years After Attacks

A US military judge has set June 5, 2028, as the trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three others charged with plotting the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, putting the long-awaited proceedings nearly 27 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The trial will begin 18 months later than the January 2027 date sought by prosecutors. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael A Schrama said in his ruling that the additional time was required to resolve pretrial disputes, including disagreements over what evidence could be presented in court.

The US military and successive administrations have spent more than two decades trying to bring to trial Mohammed, who is charged with planning one of the deadliest attacks on the United States.

2028 Trial Could Face Further Delays

The June 2028 trial remains dependent on the case meeting deadlines and other milestones and could be postponed again. A trial had earlier been scheduled for 2021 but was later cancelled.

Mohammed is charged with developing and directing the plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another hijacked aircraft crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

Three Others To Face Trial

Mohammed will stand trial alongside three alleged accomplices, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

The four are among the last detainees being held at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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Appeals Court Threw Out Plea Deal

A federal appeals court last year rejected an agreement that would have allowed Mohammed to plead guilty while avoiding the risk of execution for al-Qaida's 2001 attacks.

The deal stipulated life sentences without parole for Mohammed and two of his co-defendants. It would also have required the men to answer lingering questions from the families of victims about the attacks.

Former President Joe Biden's administration repudiated the agreement after it had been negotiated for two years.