Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial in US military court set for June 2028
A US military judge on Wednesday ordered that the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of planning the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with three other defendants, be held in a military court in June 2028.
The decision comes after nearly two decades of delays and legal wrangling in the case of four Guantanamo detainees. Under the new order, proceedings in the case will begin on June 5, 2028.
The defendants in the case are Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. In the first stage, members of the military commission, which serves a role similar to a jury, will be selected. Prosecutors will then present their documents and evidence, and the defendants will also have the right to defend themselves.
The military judge also rejected prosecutors’ request to begin the trial in January 2027. He said there would not be enough time by then to resolve legal issues before the court officially begins.
Last month, a US appeals court rejected a plea deal under which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants could have avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty. The agreement had previously been accepted by the official in charge of the Guantanamo military commission, but then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cancelled it in August, following opposition from some Republican lawmakers.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is one of the best-known detainees at Guantanamo. He is accused of orchestrating the September 11 attacks, which took place in the United States in 2001 and killed nearly 3,000 people. The Guantanamo prison in Cuba has for years held a number of defendants in terrorism-related cases.
