The long-delayed trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged self-proclaimed mastermind of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, has been scheduled to begin in June 2028.
A military judge at Guantanamo Bay ruled on Wednesday that the trial will begin on 5 June 2028, nearly 27 years after the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.
Mohammed, who was captured in 2003, has been held at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay since 2006.
Trial Date Set After Years of Delays
Lt Col Michael Schrama, the military judge overseeing the case, ruled that the trial on the merits would begin on Monday, 5 June 2028.
Prosecutors had sought a trial date in 2027, but Schrama concluded that the case required more time before proceedings could begin.
The decision is the latest development in a prosecution that has been delayed for more than a decade by disputes over evidence, legal procedures and the treatment of the defendants while they were held by the CIA.
Mohammed and four other defendants face charges connected to the 9/11 attacks, including terrorism and the murder of 2,976 people.
Controversial Plea Deal
The case was thrown into further uncertainty in 2024 when Mohammed and two other defendants reached a plea agreement with military prosecutors. Under the agreement, the defendants would plead guilty to the charges in exchange for the death penalty being removed from consideration. Mohammed would have received a life sentence at Guantanamo Bay.
The agreement was strongly criticised by some families of 9/11 victims. Then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin subsequently revoked the agreement, arguing that the decision to enter into such a significant pre-trial arrangement should have been made by him as the senior authority under the Military Commissions Act.
“I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me,” Austin wrote at the time.
The legal dispute over the plea agreement continued after attorneys for the defendants challenged Austin’s decision.
A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, later ruled 2-1 that Austin had acted within his authority when he revoked the deal.
Torture Evidence Remains Central to Case
One of the biggest obstacles to the prosecution has been the question of whether evidence obtained while the defendants were held and interrogated at secret CIA detention facilities can be used in court.
Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 plotters were subjected to harsh interrogation techniques while being held at CIA “black sites” before their transfer to Guantanamo.
The defence has argued that statements and other evidence connected to those interrogations may be inadmissible because they were obtained through torture. The issue has contributed significantly to the extraordinary length of the pre-trial proceedings.
Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and transferred to Guantanamo in September 2006. This was after spending years in CIA custody.
READ ALSO: https://alo360.net/germany-merz-warns-attackers-drone-incident/
