Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s 9/11 trial set for June 2028

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man accused of being the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, is scheduled to stand trial on June 5, 2028, more than 26 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The trial date was set on Wednesday by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama, the military judge overseeing the case at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Schrama rejected prosecutors’ request for the trial to begin in January 2027, ruling that more time was needed to resolve a series of complex pretrial disputes, particularly disagreements over what evidence can be presented to the military commission.

Mohammed will stand trial alongside three alleged co-conspirators: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

They face charges connected to the planning and execution of the September 11 attacks, including conspiracy, terrorism and murder in violation of the law of war.

The charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.

The case has been delayed for more than two decades, making it one of the longest-running military prosecutions in U.S. history.

Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in September 2006, where he has remained in U.S. custody.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Mohammed played a central role in developing and directing the plot in which hijacked commercial aircraft were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.

A fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to take control of the plane.

The case has been particularly complicated by the treatment of the defendants while in U.S. custody.

Mohammed was held in secret CIA detention facilities before being transferred to Guantanamo, and evidence connected to his alleged confessions has become the subject of extensive legal arguments.

In 2024, Mohammed and two of his co-defendants reached plea agreements with U.S. prosecutors that would have allowed them to plead guilty in exchange for life imprisonment without parole, avoiding the possibility of execution.

However, the agreements became the subject of a major legal battle.

In July 2025, a federal appeals court overturned rulings that had upheld the agreements, allowing the government to pursue the death penalty.

The latest ruling therefore returns the case to the trial track. However, the June 2028 date is not necessarily guaranteed.

The judge’s scheduling order depends on the case meeting a series of deadlines and resolving outstanding legal issues, meaning further delays remain possible.

The September 11 attacks remain one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history.

On September 11, 2001, four passenger planes were hijacked by members of al-Qaeda.

Two crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York, one struck the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.

The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and fundamentally changed U.S. foreign and domestic security policy.

If the proceedings begin as scheduled, Mohammed and his three co-defendants will face a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay in June 2028, nearly 27 years after the attacks and about 25 years after Mohammed was captured.