Accused 9/11 mastermind, 3 co-defendants to stand trial in 2028

Military judge rejects prosecutors' request for 2027 start, saying time needed to resolve outstanding pretrial issues

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, and three alleged co-defendants will stand trial beginning on June 5, 2028, according to media reports on Wednesday.

US military judge Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama rejected prosecutors’ request to begin proceedings in 2027, Fox News reported.

Schrama ruled that the prosecution’s proposed January 11, 2027, trial date did not allow sufficient time to resolve pending pretrial matters.

“A realistic trial date must account for the hearing and resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions,” Fox News quoted Schrama as saying.

Mohammed and the three co-defendants have been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2003 in connection with the attacks.

Read: How 9/11 changed Pakistan

Under the scheduling order, jury selection will begin June 5, 2028, with opening statements set to start 30 days after the military commission members are empanelled.

The order also establishes deadlines for the presentation of evidence, defence motions, rebuttal proceedings and closing arguments.

The ruling follows years of legal disputes, including a failed effort to resolve the case through plea agreements.

In 2025, a federal appeals court ruled that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to withdraw plea agreements that would have allowed Mohammed and two co-defendants to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences without parole.

“Having properly assumed the convening authority, the Secretary determined that the families and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out,” Judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote in the majority opinion.

Mohammed, a US-educated engineer, is accused of masterminding the September 11 plot in which hijacked commercial airliners struck the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, killing around 2700 people.