The US military tribunal trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, has been scheduled to begin in June 2028 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
US Air Force Judge Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama issued an 11-page scheduling order setting June 5, 2028 as the start date for Mohammed and three co-defendants.
The case has been tied up in legal proceedings for nearly two decades, making the latest scheduling order another major step in the long-running prosecution.
Mohammed will stand trial alongside Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.
Military panel to serve as jury
The proceedings will begin with the selection of a panel made up entirely of military service members who will serve as the jury under military justice rules.
Once the panel has been selected, opening statements are scheduled to begin 30 calendar days later.
Prosecutors will then present their evidence before the defendants are allowed to file motions seeking findings of not guilty.
The scheduling order provides both sides with opportunities to argue over those motions and respond to each other’s claims. Prosecutors may also be allowed to reopen their case before the defence begins presenting its main evidence.
The defence is scheduled to begin presenting its principal evidence 60 calendar days after prosecutors conclude their case.
The proceedings will ultimately move into a sentencing phase.
Judge rejects earlier trial date
Judge Schrama rejected a prosecution proposal to begin the trial in January 2027.
The judge said starting the proceedings that early would leave insufficient time to resolve outstanding pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.
The decision reflects the extensive legal complications that have surrounded the case since the four men were detained at Guantanamo.
Guilty plea agreement previously blocked
The latest development follows a series of legal disputes over proposed plea agreements.
Last month, a US appeals court refused to allow Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty under agreements that would have spared them the death penalty.
The appellate court reversed earlier decisions by a military judge and the US Court of Military Commission Review that had supported the plea arrangements.
The agreements had been offered in the previous year and accepted by the official overseeing the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court. However, the deal was later revoked by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin amid criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the 9/11 case
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is one of the most well-known detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
The facility was established in 2002 by then-US President George W. Bush to hold foreign militant suspects following the September 11 attacks.
Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the plot to hijack passenger aircraft and crash them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon.
The September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered major changes in US national security and counterterrorism policy.
The planned June 2028 trial represents another attempt to move the case toward a conclusion after years of legal delays, pretrial disputes and controversy surrounding the military commission process.
Also read: Guilty Plea of 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Delayed Yet Again
