9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Faces 2028 Trial

A military judge ordered that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three other alleged terrorists held in Guantánamo Bay will stand trial in 2028. The order covers four defendants, including Mohammed and three alleged co-conspirators. In a decision issued on Wednesday, Lt. Col. Michael Schrama set the start of the proceedings for 5 June 2028.

The ruling was made ahead of an important public anniversary of the attacks, which were carried out on 11 September 2001. The judge’s order established the trial start date after prosecutors and the defence had argued over timing.

Timing Ahead Of The 25th Anniversary

Schrama’s order came just two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The strikes killed nearly 3,000 people. The decision placed the case on a timetable that begins in June 2028, rather than in the earlier part of 2027.

Defendants Kept At Guantánamo Since 2003

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, described as the head plotter, and three of his alleged co-conspirators have been held at the US military detention facility in Cuba since 2003. The men have remained in Guantánamo custody as the long-delayed matter has worked its way through the pre-trial phase. Wednesday’s order fixes the date when the military commission will begin hearing the case.

Picture courtesy of ANC News

Prosecutors Asked For January 2027

Government prosecutors had requested that the trial be set for January 2027. Schrama rejected that bid and instead scheduled the start date for 5 June 2028. With the date now fixed for mid-2028, the government and defence will proceed under the timetable set by the military judge.

Although prosecutors had asked for an earlier start, the judge set the trial for June 5, 2028. Mohammed and the three other alleged co-conspirators remain held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Their detention began in 2003, and continues while the military commission prepares for the ordered start date. The decision therefore fixes the next major step in the proceedings, moving the case beyond the January 2027 schedule proposed by the government and closer to the June 2028 date set by Schrama for hearings before the military judge.

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27 August 2026

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