Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and three co-defendants will stand trial before a U.S. military tribunal in June 2028.
A U.S. Air Force judge, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama, issued an 11-page order on Wednesday scheduling the trial to begin on June 5, 2028, at the Guantanamo Bay military commissions in Cuba.
The case has been delayed for nearly two decades by legal battles involving the four men, who have been held at the Guantanamo detention facility.
Mohammed and three other accused men — Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali face charges linked to the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
The trial 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.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin 30 calendar days after the panel is seated.
The prosecution will then present its evidence, after which the defendants can file motions seeking findings of not guilty.
The judge’s order allows both sides to argue over the motions and respond to each other’s submissions.
Prosecutors will also have an opportunity to reopen their case, while the defence is expected to begin presenting its main evidence 60 calendar days after the prosecution concludes its case.
The proceedings will end with a sentencing phase.
Plea deal rejected
The latest development comes about a month after a U.S. appeals court blocked plea agreements that would have allowed Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty without facing the death penalty.
The appeals court overturned earlier decisions by a military judge and the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review that had supported the agreements.
The plea deal was reached last year and approved by the official overseeing the Pentagon’s Guantanamo military commissions.
However, it was withdrawn in August by then-U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin following criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Schrama rejected prosecutors’ proposal to begin the trial in January 2027, saying the proposed date would not provide enough time to resolve outstanding pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.
Mohammed accused of planning 9/11 attacks
Mohammed is the most prominent detainee at the Guantanamo Bay facility, which was established in 2002 under former U.S. President George W. Bush to hold foreign militant suspects following the September 11 attacks.
He is accused of organising the plot in which hijacked passenger planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon.
The attacks on September 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people and became one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history.
If the case proceeds as scheduled, the June 2028 trial will come almost 27 years after the attacks.
