A courtroom sketch by artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. military, depicts alleged September 11 co-conspirators Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (center) and co-defendant Walid bin Attash (left) attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on December 8, 2008. — Reuters
– Defendants face charges related to attacks that resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths.
– A court blocked plea agreements that would have eliminated the possibility of the death penalty.
– The September 11 attacks claimed almost 3,000 lives on September 11, 2001.
A U.S. Air Force judge has scheduled Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, along with three co-defendants, to stand trial before a military tribunal in June 2028. The ruling was issued by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama, marking a significant step in a lengthy legal process that has been stalled for over twenty years regarding these four detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Last month, an appellate court declined to approve a plea deal that would have allowed Mohammed and two others to plead guilty without facing the death penalty. This decision overturned prior rulings by a military judge and the US Court of Military Commission Review, which had supported the plea agreement. The deal had been offered last year and accepted by the official overseeing Guantanamo’s military court, but it was revoked in August by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin amid criticism from Republican lawmakers.
According to Schrama’s 11-page order, Mohammed and co-defendants Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali will go to trial starting June 5, 2028. The process will begin with selecting a panel of service members to act as the jury, in accordance with military justice procedures. Opening statements are scheduled to begin 30 days after the jury is seated, followed by the presentation of prosecution evidence. The defendants may then file motions claiming innocence.
Both sides will have opportunities to argue and respond to motions, and prosecutors may reopen their case. The defense will present its main evidence 60 days after the prosecution concludes. The trial will culminate with a sentencing phase.
Schrama declined the prosecutors’ request to start the trial in January 2027, citing insufficient time to address pretrial evidentiary and procedural motions. Mohammed remains the most well-known detainee at Guantanamo, established in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to house foreign militants following the 9/11 attacks. He is accused of plotting the hijacking and crashing of passenger planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.