September 11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Faces June 2028 Trial After Years of Delays

A US military judge has officially scheduled the trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and three co-defendants to begin more than two decades after their arrest.

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama issued the scheduling order on Wednesday, setting opening proceedings for June 5, 2028. This ruling follows a decision by a US appeals court to block plea deals that would have allowed Mohammed and two co-defendants to avoid the death penalty.

The legal proceedings have faced years of stagnation due to ongoing disputes regarding evidence obtained while the defendants were held in CIA prisons and subjected to torture. Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama rejected a prosecution request to start the trial in early 2027, explaining that the timeline would be insufficient to resolve pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.

Alongside Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the defendants standing trial include Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. According to the order, a military jury will be selected first, with opening statements scheduled to take place 30 days later. The defense is slated to begin its case 60 days after the conclusion of the prosecution's presentation, and the trial will ultimately conclude with a sentencing phase.

Previously, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants reached an agreement in 2024 to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. However, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the agreement shortly after, a decision that was upheld by an appeals court last month.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed served as a key lieutenant to al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden prior to his capture by US forces in Pakistan in March 2003. Following his capture, he spent three years in secret CIA prisons before being transferred to Guantanamo in 2006.